‘Cats Fall Just Short in Back-and-Forth Affair at Wake Forest, 68-66

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — In a game that featured 14 ties and 15 lead changes, the Davidson women's basketball team fell just short, 68-66, in a contest that went down to the wire on the road against ACC-foe Wake Forest as the Wildcats' five-game win streak came to an end on Friday afternoon at Joel Coliseum.

Davidson (7-5), which trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half, got to within one-point twice in the final 23 seconds, but Wake Forest eventually scored the win by hitting three of its last four free throws in that span.

The Wildcats put four players in double figures for the second straight game. Laura Murray (Harrisburg, Pa.) led the way with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, with a pair of three-balls and four free throws.

Amanda Ottaway (Hollidaysburg, Pa.) followed up her 18-point effort at Radford in the last game with 15 points, while Sarah Davis had a season-high 11 off the bench. Sophia Aleksandravicius (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) rounded out the quartet of double-figure scorers with 10 points and nine boards. She also swatted away a season-high six shots, one off her school-record.

Wake Forest (10-3) won its third straight. It was led by Sandra Garcia's 22 points off the bench, while Lakevia Boykin chipped in with 16 points.

The turning point of the game was a 13-2 run over a five-minute span in the middle of the second half by Wake Forest that turned a 44-43 Davidson lead into a 56-46 Demon Deacon advantage at the 7:23 mark. The 'Cats had maintained its lead after halftime thanks to Davis, who rattled off eight of the Wildcats' first 12 second-half points to give them the one-point lead.

Murray did her best in keeping things close for Davidson. In one stretch, she ran off seven straight capped off by a three-ball. Ottaway followed with a triple of her own and it was 61-56 with 4:29 left.

Later, Murray made it 65-60 on two free throws, and then on the 'Cats next possession, hit a running layup off the baseline for a 65-62 score and 36 ticks left.

Ottaway then calmly canned a pair of free throws and Davidson was within one, 65-64, with 23 seconds left. After Wake Forest hit two free throws, Aleksandravicius made it 67-66 on an out of bounds play in the paint.

A quick foul with five seconds left put the Demon Deacons on the line again where Mykala Walker hit the first free throw. She then missed the second, but the ball got poked out to the three-point line and by the time Davidson recovered, time had expired.

The first half was a two-player show on each side, with Murray and Ottaway shining for Davidson, while Wake Forest's Garcia and Boykin did most of the damage for the Demon Deacons.

Murray dropped in a quick seven points to start the game and Davidson doubled up WFU, 12-6 at 15:40 mark.

Wake Forest's Garcia countered, scoring nine straight points and capping off her spurt with an and-one play for a 17-16 lead.

Down 23-21, Ottaway then stepped up and scored seven straight for the Wildcats to knot things up at 28-all with 3:07 left in the half. But prior to the senior's run, Lakevia Boykin of Wake Forest rattled off nine of her 11 first-half points in a row to keep things close for the Demon Deacons.

The half ended with Barbara Sitton (Richmond, Va.) swishing home a pair of free throws for a 32-30 lead. Sitton had a six of Davidson's 11 assists on the afternoon.

The Wildcats return to Southern Conference play to start the new year by hosting Elon, Jan. 4. Gametime is set for 7 p.m.

Game notes: Wake Forest took advantage of 24 Davidson turnovers and scored 28 points off them ... Davidson held a 44-31 edge on the boards, the sixth time its out-rebounded the opposition ... the 44 rebounds were a team season-high ... Murray's 22-point effort was her eighth career 20-point outing ... the Wildcats' saw their two-game road win streak come to an end ... Davidson finished 4-5 in non-conference games this year.

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