Aleksandravicius and Johnsen Pace ‘Cats to UTSA Thanksgiving Tournament Title, 69-60

Saturday, November 27

San Antonio, Texas

6:00 p.m.

Davidson College

3-3

UTSA

3-3

Davidson

UTSA

Aleksandravicius and Johnsen Pace ‘Cats to UTSA Thanksgiving Tournament Title, 69-60

11/27/2010 9:53:01 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Gavin McFarlin -- Assistant SID

SAN ANTONIO, Texas —Sophia Aleksandravicius (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) clipped the 20-point mark for the second straight game, and fellow post-player Kristen Johnsen (Wayne, Pa.) added 19 points in carrying the Wildcats to the UTSA Thanksgiving Tournament Title with a 69-60 win over host UTSA in women's basketball on Saturday evening at the Convocation Center.

The duo were both named to the all-tournament team for Davidson (3-3), and deservedly so as the pair combined for 82 points and 35 rebounds during the two-game tournament. Friday saw Johnsen registered her third career double-double with career bests of 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Aleksandravicius set a school-record for blocks with seven and added 23 points.

Saturday was much the same as the duo combined for 27 of Davidson's 37 points in the second half alone when UTSA (3-3) was cutting into the Wildcat lead.

Aleksandravicius had her sixth career 20-point game on 8-of-14 shooting and 4-for-6 from the charity stripe. The 6-4 forward hauled in six boards and swatted away four shots to give her 11 on the weekend.

Johnsen was nearly perfect on the night, going 6-of-6 from the floor and 7-of-8 at the line for 19 points to go along with six boards and three assists.

Also hitting the double-digit mark for the first time this season was senior Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.) with 14 points.

By way of going 2-0 over the weekend, Davidson earned the tournament title, while UTSA and Tulsa tied at 1-1.

UTSA put three players in double digits with Amber Gregg and Ashley Gardner tying for team-high honors with 14 points.

Aleksandravicius and Johnsen opened the second half scoring all 10 of the 'Cats points through the first five minutes to push their halftime lead of seven out to 40-27.

Ashley Franklin's layup for the Roadrunners later cut Davidson's lead down to four, 40-36, but the 'Cats did not back down, going on a quick 8-2 run to push its lead back out to 48-38.

Back-to-back baskets by Johnsen would push the lead out to 56-45 with 4:45 left. Johnsen along with Barbara Sitton (Richmond, Va.), Lax and Lauren Murray (Harrisburg, Pa.) then combined to go 9-for-12 at the line in the closing minutes to seal the win as UTSA got no closer than five points the rest of the way.

In the early goings, Davidson's defense along with Johnsen and Aleksandravicius continued their strong showing from the night before. The defense held UTSA to just 8-of-25 shooting in the first half and the Roadrunners shot just 32.1 percent for the game. It was the fourth game Davidson has held an opponent to under 35 percent shooting.

Johnsen and Aleksandravicius scored half of the Wildcats' first 16 points in giving Davidson a 16-12 lead.

After the score was tied at 18-all, Davidson went on a scoring spurt, rattling off a 12-5 run to close out the half for a 30-23 lead. Lax led the way with seven of those points, including a pair of treys, and netted 10 first-half points off the bench.

Again the Wildcats showed their scoring touch in the paint, dropping in 30 points after netting 42 points in the win vs. North Texas. They also turned 17 Roadrunner turnovers into 16 points.

Next on tap for the Wildcats is a 4 p.m. contest against Radford at John M. Belk Arena on Saturday, Dec. 4. The game was moved up from its original time of 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Davidson's win tonight was its first in the all-time series vs. UTSA ... for the second game in a row the 'Cats shot over 50 percent in the second half alone ... Murray hauled in nine boards to give her 20 for the two-day tournament ... Sitton filled the stat sheet over the weekend with totals of nine boards, six assists and four steals ... in her return trip home, Chloe Woodington finished with 11 points, eight assists and two boards ... the in-season tournament title is the 'Cats fourth since the 2001-02 season.