Six Straight, Davidson Erupts in 2nd Half to Score 78-51 Win at Elon

Saturday, February 11

Elon, N.C.

2:00 p.m.

Davidson College

16-7 (12-2)

Elon

12-12 (8-7)

Davidson

Elon

Junior Sarah Davis provided five points and five boards off the bench.

Photo by: SoConPhotos.com

Six Straight, Davidson Erupts in 2nd Half to Score 78-51 Win at Elon

2/11/2012 4:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID

Find Your Favorite Wildcat Action Shot at DavidsonPhotos.com

ELON, N.C. — The scoring duo of Laura Murray (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Sophia Aleksandravicius (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) combined to score half of the Wildcats' season-high 50 second-half points and Davidson won its season-best sixth game in a row in a 78-51 Southern Conference road win at Elon in women's basketball action at Alumni Gym.

Davidson (17-7, 13-2 SoCon) shot 57 percent in the second half and used a 21-0 run over a seven-minute span to sweep the season-series vs. Elon (12-12, 8-7 SoCon).

Murray paced all scorers with 19 points, 12 of them in the second period, and pocketed three of the 'Cats' 13 steals for the game. Aleksandracivius followed with 13 points, all coming in the second half, and pulled down eight boards.

Barbara Sitton (Richmond, Va.) reached the double-digit mark in points for the fourth time in the last five games, netting 13 points to go along with game highs of six assists and five steals.

Shneeka Center (Smithtown, N.Y.) and Amanda Ottaway (Hollidaysburg, Pa.) sparked a 27-point outing by the bench with strong games of nine points each. Center pulled in a season-high eight rebounds.

Ali Ford paced the Phoenix with 16 points, but was held scoreless in the first half. She was just 2-of-10 from behind the arc. Aiesha Harper also reached double-figures with 11 points.

Up just 39-34 in the second half after a Lisa Archie hit a layup, Davidson turned up the offensive and defensive intensity to blow the game open. Aleksandracivius sparked the offense, scoring nine points in a 21-0 run that turned the four-point lead into a 60-34 lead with 8:28 left. Center, Ottaway, Jasmine Calin (Miami, Fla.) and Sitton also scored during the run.

During the spurt, the defense forced six turnovers and held Elon without a field goal for seven minutes as the Phoenix was just 0-for-6 from the floor.

The lead never went below 20 points the rest of the way, reaching as high as 29 twice in the final three minutes of the contest.

Aleksandravicius and Murray opened the new stanza scoring 18 of the first 20 Wildcat points to push a 28-22 halftime lead to 48-34 at the 11:42 mark.

The first half saw both teams struggle from the field, shooting just 33 percent each. The Wildcats led the majority of the half with Sarah Davis (St. Clair, Mich.) giving them a 17-13 lead at the 7:14 mark on a power drive to the basket. The junior did a great job off the bench filling in for Aleksandravicius, who picked up two quick fouls in just five minutes and had to sit the remainder of the period.

Davis later converted a three-point play for a 22-18 lead and a fastbreak bucket off a steal by Sitton made it 28-20 with 1:32 left.

Aiesha Harper kept things close for Elon with nine first-half points, including scoring seven of the last nine Phoenix points.

Davidson stays on the road for a 7 p.m. contest at UNCG on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

Game Notes: Davidson's 13-2 SoCon record is its best at this point of the season in school history… the 13 league wins is one win away from tying the school record ... Davidson has now swept the season-series vs. Elon, Ga. Southern, Furman, Coll. of Charleston and Western Carolina ... the win was the 'Cats 15th in the last 18 games ... the Wildcats have also won 15 of their lat 18 league games dating back to last season ... Murray pushed her SoCon double-digit scoring streak to 20 straight games ... Davidson has won four straight road games ... Davidson is 16-6 all-time in the series vs. the Phoenix ... the Wildcats finished with 13 steals and forced Elon into 21 turnovers.