Wildcat Women's Basketball Starts 2011-12 Season at Clemson on Friday

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DAVIDSON, N.C. — The 2011-12 Wildcat women's basketball season opens on the road this weekend when they head to play ACC-foe Clemson this Friday, Nov. 11. Gametime is set for 5:30 p.m.

Davidson got the season rolling with an exhibition game last Friday night vs. Winston-Salem State, taking home an 82-67 victory behind Laura Murray's game-high 27 points.

In preparation for the tip-off on Friday, below is the season outlook for the 2011-12 Wildcats ...

.... The Wildcats' 2011-12 season begins its second year under the guidence of Michele Savage after she took over the reins a year ago. The expectations are running high through the program with the return of four starters and nine letterwinners in all, including SoCon preseason Player of Year pick Sophia Aleksandravicius.

With a solid balance of talent from top to bottom, good depth and the leadership of two veteran seniors, Davidson has the capability to capture the program's first Southern Conference Tournament Title.

Coach Savage's thoughts on this year's team and what you can expect from the Davidson Women's Basketball team for the 2011-12 campaign…

What are some key factors for the team's success this season?

Coach Savage: “I think there are three main keys to our success this year, they are: staying healthy, being consistent, and finishing games and getting production from other players.

Staying healthy is definitely a concern this year, as last season we were plagued with several injuries throughout the season. This year we would like to break that streak and try to be injury free.

Consistency is another factor for success and is the difference between an average team and a great team. We want to strive for greatness. Our inconsistency led to a lot of one-point losses last year and we want to do everything in our power to turn those games into victories this year.

We will need contributions from other players besides Aleksandravicius and Murray. Winning is a team effort, and everyone must contributed. I think this year's team will have consistent production from other players every night.”

2010-11 Quick Recap
Last season the Wildcats finished 14-17 overall in coach Savage's first year, facing top nonconference programs like Arkansas, Arkansas-Little Rock and Princeton, two of which advanced to the NCAA Tournament. They finished with an 8-12 league record

and scored the program's first SoCon Tournament win since 2007. The 'Cats nearly upset No. 1 seed Appalachian State in the second round of the tournament, taking the Mountaineers down to the wire before falling 73-63.

In addition, Davidson took home its fourth in-season tournament title since 2001-02 by winning the UTSA Thanksgiving Tournament.

Gone due to graduation are guards Ashley Lax and Chloe Woodington. Lax leaves after four years as one of the top three-point shooters in Davidson history. She finished second all-time with 188 treys and set the single-season record for made three-balls with 66 in 2008-09. She also holds the third-best three-point shooting percentage in school history, just under 37 percent. Woodington was a valuable reserve and spot starter at the point guard spot as a senior.

2011-12 Returners
The pieces that return for Savage are nine letterwinners, which starts with All-SoCon performers Aleksandravicius and Laura Murray. The tandem were two of the best in the league a year ago with Aleksandravicius earning all-league first team honors and Murray being named the SoCon Freshman of the Year by both the media and coaches. They were each named to the league's 2011-12 preseason coaches team.

In addition the senior duo of Kristen Johnsen and Amanda Ottaway will look to lead and hope to cap off their careers by assisting the Wildcats to their first league title.

Add in the pieces of juniors Barbara Sitton, Sarah Davis, Jasmine Calin and Katrin Chiemeka, who all will play a key part, along with an incoming class of five freshmen, it all sets up the 'Cats for another solid season and a strong run in the SoCon.

You return two of the top players in the SoCon from last year in Aleksandravicius and Murray. What do you expect of them and what are you hoping to see in their development from last year to this season?

Coach Savage: “I'm expecting a lot of the same from both of them. I expect to see more versatile scoring around the basket from Sophia and more aggressive rebounding on the defensive end of the court.
I think that players make the biggest improvement in their individual performance from freshman year to sophomore year, so I think we will see a lot more consistency on both ends of the floor from Laura. She has worked hard on her game and endurance over the summer, and in the preseason, so I am expecting to see her and the team benefit from her efforts.”

Senior Class

Ottaway and Johnsen each had strong junior campaigns, setting career bests in nearly every category. Ottaway matched her career-high in appearing in 27 games and averaged nearly four points a contest off the bench.

Johnsen provided a nice scoring punch down low on the blocks with fellow forward Aleksandravicius. The senior, who was awarded the team's Most Improved Player Award, netted close to nine points a game and hauled in nearly six boards per contest. She finished third in the SoCon in field goal percentage, shooting a career-best 52.4 percent from the floor to pace the team. She also started a personal-best 31 games.

What has impressed you most about the senior class?

Coach Savage: “Otto has worked a lot on her game this summer. She spent a lot of time playing basketball this summer and I can tell that her confidence in her abilities has increased.

KJ has impressed me by her dedication to improving her conditioning. She was unable to do a lot of conditioning due to off-season surgery, but has managed to work her way back into playing shape. She has also impressed me with taking on more of a leadership role on the team. I think her teammates admire her work ethic and respect her a lot. I think both seniors want to make this year their best.”

Cracking the Lineup: Backcourt and Front
The Wildcats return four of their five starters from a year ago, led by Murray in the backcourt and Aleksandravicius in the frontcourt. Aleksandravicius, who averaged 16.5 points for third-best in the league, had a second year for the record books. One of the top post players in the SoCon, the 6-4 forward set the Wildcat single-season marks in points (511), field goals (192) and free throws (123) made, and blocks (95). Aleksandravicius also set the single-game record for blocks (7 vs. North Texas, Nov. 26, 2010) and all-time record with 144 and counting.

She finished with an average of nine boards a game, putting her second in the league in rebounds, while pacing the SoCon in offensive rebounds with 96.

Murray became just the second Wildcat in program history to be honored as the top freshman last year as she led all first-year

players in the SoCon in scoring, made three-pointers (42), free-throw percentage and assists (71- second-best on the team). Murray ranked second on the team in scoring during the regular season at 11.6 points per game and scored in double figures in 18 of her 29 games played.

Helping fill the backcourt will be junior Sitton. Last year saw her start 24 games at the point guard spot. She paced the team with a team-high and career-best 129 assists, good for fifth-most in a Wildcat single-season.

In addition, Chiemeka and Shneeka Center will see time in the backcourt. They each provide a scoring threat off the bench. Chiemeka played in a personal-best 23 games, while Center, in just 11 games due to a season-ending injury, averaged nearly eight points. She dropped in 19 points at home against Appalachian State.

The frontcourt will be filled with returners Ottaway, Johnsen, Davis and Calin. Davis is looking to provide depth off the bench down low in the blocks after playing just eight games last year due to an injury. Calin had a nice sophomore campaign, playing in a personal-best 29 games and averaging close to four points in 12 minutes of action. She closed out the regular season with back-to-back nine-point and four-rebound performances.

There are five freshmen this year (Shannon Eriksson, Lillian McCabe, Mason Jeffries, Hannah Early and Mellissa Giegerich). Talk about what they bring to the table and how you see them fitting into the rotation and contributing during the season?

Coach Savage: “Each of the freshmen bring depth to the team in almost every position. Shannon will bring depth to the point guard spot. She handles the ball well and has a good understanding of the game. I expect her to push Barb every day.
Lillian and Mason will provide some perimeter shooting and give us some size on the wing. In addition, Hannah will probably be the most versatile of the freshmen by providing an inside-outside threat. Rounding out the freshman class is Mel and she will give us much needed depth at every position. I think the nine returners have improved their game and the freshmen will be able to gradually work their way into playing time.”

The 2011-12 Schedule

Highlighting the schedule is non-conference games at ACC-foes Clemson and Wake Forest, matchups against four Big South opponents, including a contest against boarder-state rival Winthrop, a trip to Princeton and the 'Cats' normal 20-game Southern Conference slate.

The 2011-12 campaign starts out with Davidson hitting the road in four of the first seven games to tip the season off.

Looking to continue their winning ways at home, the 'Cats' home opener has them playing the Mercer Bears, Nov. 14. Since the opening of John M. Belk Arena in 1992-93, Davidson is 136-86 all-time with 10 straight winning marks since 2001-02 on its home floor. The Wildcats have rattled off a combined 42 wins in the last five years.

The SoCon Tournament is back in Asheville, N.C., for the first time since 1995. The first two rounds will be played on the campus of UNC Asheville, March 2-3, at the Kimmel Center, and then move over to the Asheville Civic Center for the semifinals and final, March, 4-5.

For more details on the schedule, check out "Wildcats release 2011-12 Schedule"

What are your thoughts about this season's schedule?

Coach Savage: “I'm looking forward to building on our momentum from the end of last season. We have a very challenging schedule for the upcoming season with teams from the ACC, A-10 and Princeton, who participated in the NCAA tournament. I feel our non-conference games will prepare us for a very competitive SoCon schedule.

I'm very excited that our fans will be able to travel to this year's conference tournament. With having the tournament in Asheville, which is centrally located to several teams in the conference, it should increase fan support and provide an electrifying atmosphere for our student-athletes to experience."

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