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Monday, January 19
Birmingham, Ala.
8:00 p.m.
Davidson College
65
at
74
Samford
Photo by: Sideline Sports
'Cats Fall 74-65 in Battle of 1st vs. 2nd Place Teams in SoCon
1/19/2009 10:24:14 PM | Women's Basketball
Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Senior Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore, Md.) netted a game-high 23 points to pace three Wildcats in double figures, but the first place Samford Bulldogs matched the 'Cats with three double-figure scorers of their own in taking a 74-65 decision on Monday evening at the Pete Hanna Center in Southern Conference action.
Davidson, facing Samford for the first time in program history, fell to 7-3 in league action and 8-11 overall. Samford continued its winning ways, picking up its ninth straight league win to run its mark to 9-1 and its overall mark to 14-3.
Robinson hit 10-of-17 shots from the field and added a game-high tying 10 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season, a SoCon-best this year. She also pocketed four steals, one off her season-high.
Joining the senior in double digits was Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) with 14 points, 12 of them coming in the first half, and sophomore guard Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.) with a even 10.
Samford's Emily London was one point off of matching Robinson, closing with 22 points, while Megan Wilderotter (16) and Chika Okoli (12) also hit the double-figure mark for the Bulldogs.
Trailing 18-10 to start the game, senior Mandy Halbersleben (Cincinnati, Ohio) netted four straight points to spark a quick 8-0 run to knot things up at 18-all.
Samford though, used a hot-shooting hand from the floor in the first half to pull away and take a 40-34 lead into the locker room.
The Bulldogs hit 53.6 percent of their tries in the first period, including draining 6-of-12 three-ball tries in the half. Wilderotter hit three of her four total three-pointers in the half, with two of them coming during a six-minute stretch midway through the half to help give her team a 31-26 lead with 3:52 left in the period. Wilderotter was one of two Bulldogs to score in double figures during the first period, netting 11 points.
After Samford pushed its lead out to 15 points to start the second half on the strength of a 14-5 run, Davidson used a streak of its own to bring it back to within seven at 57-50 with 12:20 on the clock.
Freshman Kristen Johnsen (Wayne, Pa.) started the run with a bucket inside and then Robinson took over, scoring six of the next eight Wildcat points, including a three-ball that finished off an 11-3 spurt that brought the 'Cats to within seven.
Samford again pushed the lead back out to double digits at 66-54 after London hit a three-pointer and added two free throws to finish off a brief run by the Bulldogs.
Later, Robinson got the Wildcats to within seven one more time, 70-63, with a jumper and layup, but they got no closer in dropping the 74-65 decision.
Samford closed the game a perfect 14-for-14 from the charity stripe, including four straight to finish off the game.
Davidson did win the battle on the boards with a 36-30 advantage, marking the 11th time this season it has out-board the opposition. Of the 36 rebounds, 14 of them were on the offensive end, good for 13 second-chance points
Davidson returns home for a 12 p.m. contest against Appalachian State on Saturday, Jan. 24 as it starts its second go-around in the SoCon.
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