Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com
Trips to Nebraska and Wilmington Highlight Wildcat 2009-10 WBB Schedule
9/22/2009 9:28:06 AM | Women's Basketball
Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Head coach Annette Watts and the Davidson women's basketball team will make a trip to the state of Nebraska to open the season as well as a Thanksgiving trip to Wilmington, N.C., to play in a tournament at UNC Wilmington, which are just a few highlights from the 2009-10 schedule released today.
In addition to those contests, the Wildcats will travel to N.C. State and William & Mary as part of its non-conference schedule, while also partaking in a 20-game Southern Conference slate.
“We've got a solid mix of competition in this year's schedule,” said Watts, who enters her ninth year. “As always, we use our non-conference games to prepare for league play and to help us get better, and this schedule gives us great opportunities to accomplish both. While it is disappointing that our 'Cats will not be at Belk Arena until early December, we are excited about the early Christmas present this team could deliver to our home fans. With five new faces and an experienced group of returnees, our games will be fun and exciting.”
Davidson is no stranger to playing a tough non-conference schedule to prepare itself for SoCon play. During Watts' eight-year tenure, the Wildcats have played the likes of Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Michigan State, Missouri, Gonzaga, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Montana, Virginia, Xavier and Auburn.
The 'Cats return seven letterwinners from last year's 12-18 squad, including three starters. They will be looking to lead the Wildcats to their sixth winning campaign in the last seven years as well as hunt for the program's first SoCon Championship Title. Davidson closed 2008-09 with a winning mark in league games for the sixth year in a row.
Davidson will be tested early in the season, when it heads to the state of Nebraska to open play against Nebraska and Creighton during the weekend of Nov. 13-15. This will be the first matchup for the 'Cats against either program. The Cornhuskers sported a 15-16 overall mark last year and reached the second round of the WNIT. Creighton also reached the second round of the WNIT after compiling a 22-12 overall mark. The Bluejays return four starters from that team and seven letterwinners overall.
The Wildcats will then return to the state of North Carolina, where they will travel to the capital and take on N.C. State, which is coached by former Western Carolina head coach Kelly Harper, who is in her first year. The two schools have not faced each other since 1976. The Wolfpack are coming off a 13-17 season, with a 5-9 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Continuing its eight-game road swing to open the season, Davidson will play at William & Mary (Nov. 22) before heading to Wilmington to participate in the UNC Wilmington Thanksgiving Tournament, Nov. 27-28. The 'Cats will open the tournament with a contest against Duquesne and then play either UNCW or Monmouth. All three teams are coming off winning campaigns a season ago with the Dukes recording a school-record 20 wins and reaching the WNIT, while the host Seahawks were 16-15 and the Hawks sported an 18-13 mark.
To finish out the month of November, Davidson jumps right into SoCon action with a contest at Furman, Nov. 30. The 'Cats close out their road trip with a Dec. 5 date at Western Carolina. The Catamounts are coming off their second SoCon Tournament Title in the last five years after a 21-12 season in 2008-09.
December sees the 'Cats play three of its five games for the month at home, opening their home slate against Appalachian State and Wofford, Dec. 7 & 13, before playing a non-conference contest at Radford prior to Christmas. They will finish out the month with a game against Newberry College, Dec. 28. In the past four years, Davidson has gone 34-13 overall in the friendly confines of Belk Arena, hitting the 10-win mark twice in that stretch.
Davidson will play one more non-conference game, Longwood, after the new year, and then enter the heart of its SoCon schedule for the rest of the season. The contest against Longwood starts a three-game homestand that includes SoCon foes Samford and Chattanooga, both of whom will again be favorites in the SoCon. Samford, in its first year in the league last year, went 22-7 and 16-4 in conference games, while Chattanooga closed out at 22-10 overall and won the regular-season title with a 17-3 mark. Davidson won a thriller at home against the Mocs last year, taking an 89-80 overtime win.
The Wildcats hit the road again in seven of their next nine contests through January and the first part of February. Davidson will have the luxury of playing on its home floor with its home crowd behind it as the Wildcats' last three contests are at Belk Arena against College of Charleston, which is the 'Cats' “Pink Zone Game,” Georgia Southern and then close out with Furman for Senior Day.
The SoCon Tournament, March 3-8, will be held this year in Charlotte, N.C. Davidson has gone 10-16 in its 16 appearances at the tournament since joining the SoCon in 1993-94.
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