‘Cats Nearly Pull Off Comeback, Fall Short in Overtime, 74-71

Friday, November 27

Wilmington, N.C.

4:00 p.m.

Davidson College

74 (OT)

Duquesne

Photo by: Sideline Sports

‘Cats Nearly Pull Off Comeback, Fall Short in Overtime, 74-71

11/27/2009 8:19:26 PM | Women's Basketball

Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID

Box Score

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Davidson overcame a 20-point deficit in the second half to force overtime, but the Duquesne Dukes netted four-of-six free throws in the last minute to seal the extra period win, 74-71, over the Wildcats in the first game of the UNCW Hampton Inn Invitational on the campus of UNC Wilmington in women's basketball action on Friday afternoon.

Down 58-38 with 10:30 left in regulation, Davidson called a timeout to regroup. Out of the timeout, the Wildcats turned up the defensive intensity and found their stroke, going on a 24-4 run to close out the second half and send the game into overtime tied up at 62-all.

The 'Cats forced eight Duke turnovers in that stretch, using a half-court trapping defense to get themselves right back in the game. For the game, they caused the Dukes to cough up the ball 32 times, scoring 31 points off those turnovers.

The extra period saw Duquesne's Alex Gensler, who netted a game-high 20 points but was held scoreless after hitting a Duke bucket at the 10:24 mark, go off for five straight points to give her team a 67-62 lead with 3:40 on the clock.

Davidson came right back, getting a jumper from Kristen Johnsen (Wayne, Pa.) and a layup from Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.) on its next two possessions to cut the lead to one, 67-66.

Then after another Gensler two-pointer, freshman Jasmine Calin (Miami, Fla.) drained two free throws at the 2:44 mark and would give the Wildcats a one-point lead later on an and-one play at the 1:16 mark. She finished off the three-point play with the free throw and Davidson was up 71-70 as Duquesne called a timeout.

The Wildcats were called for a foul coming out of the break, resulting in two Vanessa Abel free throws for the Dukes, who regained the lead at 72-71. Davidson then called a timeout to set up a play with under a minute left in overtime.

Freshman Barbara Sitton (Richmond, Va.) got an open look, just missing the shot, but the 'Cats got the offensive rebound to then see it get turned over. A Gensler free throw on the other end after another Davidson foul pushed the lead out to 73-71 with 29 ticks left.

Davidson again got off another shot on their next possession, but saw the Dukes race down the missed shot forcing the Wildcats to foul. Another free throw by Duquesne gave it a three-point lead, 74-71, with one last chance for Davidson to tie the game and just 10 seconds left on the clock.

Sitton drove down the court and fired off a three-ball that glanced off the rim for the final score of 74-71. The freshman point guard filled the box score with seven points, six rebounds (career-high), five assists and four steals (matched career-high).

Pacing the Wildcats (0-5) in scoring was Lax with a team- and season-best 19 points in 42 minutes of action.

Sophia Aleksandravicius (Ridge Pound, N.Y.) and Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) followed with eight points each. Thompson saw her eight-game streak of scoring in double figures dating back to last season come to an end.

The Dukes (5-1) placed three in double figures in points with Samantha Pollino and Keri Pryor netting 15 and 13 points, respectively, to join Gensler.

The begin of the game was a back-and-forth affair as their where five lead changes and two ties. Davidson had brief three point leads at 15-12 and 19-16 after getting a three-ball each from Chloe Woodington (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Lax, who tied a single-game school mark with 12 three-pointer attempts.

Davidson as a team drained five of its nine first-half field goals from three-land and finished a season-best 8-of-25 from behind the arc.

Davidson held a 22-21 advantage until it saw the Dukes go on a 7-0 run to regain the lead at 28-22 and 5:21 left in the half. After a quick Wildcat time, the 'Cats got themselves within two, 28-26, after buckets by freshman Sara Davis (St. Clair, Mich.) and Aleksandravicius, but Duquesne went on another 7-0 run to go into halftime up 35-26.

Davidson finishes out the tournament with a game against Monmouth tomorrow at 1 p.m in the consolation bracket. Monmouth was defeated 63-49 in the second game vs. the hosts Seahawks.

Game Notes: This is the 14th in-season tournament the Wildcats have played during head coach Annette Watts' nine-year tenure ... they are 14-16 in those tournaments ... Calin's six points were a new season-best for the freshman ... Aleksandravicius' two blocks in the game was the third time she has had multiple blocks in a contest ... Davidson hit the 15-offensive board mark for the second straight game ... The 'Cats' 18 steals were a season-high and the most since they pocketed 20 vs. Georgia Southern on Jan. 13, 2007 ... Thompson's two made three-pointers moved her into 4th all-time in the school's record book with 122.