Davidson Secures First Regular Season SoCon Title with 52-39 Win at Samford

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Davidson used a stout defensive effort, holding Samford to 25.5 percent shooting, including 22 percent in the second half, while shooting 53 percent itself in the second half, and finished off the program's first Southern Conference regular-season title with a 52-39 win on the road against Samford in women's basketball action.

Coupled with Appalachian State's defeat to Chattanooga, Davidson (21-8, 17-3 SoCon) shares its first regular-season title with the Mountaineers, each finishing 17-3 in league play. The 'Cats will get the No. 1 seed for this weekend's SoCon Tournament by way of a tiebreaker as they swept the Mountaineers this year in the two-game series.

“I'm very pleased with the team's effort tonight and so thrilled for them,” said head coach Michele Savage, who is in her second season. “It's been a great season and we're not done yet. I was very impressed with our defense and the team did an excellent job of responding after our loss at Chattanooga on Saturday as we regrouped and came out ready to play.”

Sophia Aleksandravicius sparked a 22-5 run in the first nine minutes of the second half with seven of her 13 points and five different Wildcats scored during the run as they broke open a 19-all game at the break for a 41-24 lead and never looked back.

Aleksandravicius paced all scorers with 13 points, and added five rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Amanda Ottaway, making just her second career start, finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while Katrin Chiemeka dropped in nine to go with five boards and three assists. Ottaway tied her season-high with seven made shots at the charity stripe, while Chiemeka finished off the Wildcats' big run with her lone triple of the game that gave Davidson a commanding 17-point cushion with 10:47 left.

The lead never got below 10 points the remainder of the way, and Ottaway and Chiemeka sealed the title clinching-win with three free throws in the last 42 seconds.

Samford (17-12, 12-8 SoCon) was led by Ruth Ketcham's 10 points, while Taylor Reece had nine. The Bulldogs shot just 13-of-51 for the game, including 6-for-27 in the second half.

The first half saw both teams combine to shoot just 14-for-46 and turn the ball over 17 times as they each had a hard time getting into an offensive rhythm. Davidson had a brief 14-12 lead after a pair of Aleksendravicius free throws, but Samford went ahead 15-14 on a Paige Anderson trey.

Right before the half, Barbara Sitton hit a driving layup with 1:37 left, but Ruth Ketcham hit Samford's fourth three-ball a few plays later, and both teams were knotted up at 19-all at the break. Sitton had a chance to get the lead back for the 'Cats, but missed a jumper on the left wing at the buzzer.

The Wildcats will play the winner of No. 8 College of Charleston and No. 9 Wofford on Saturday, March 3, at 12 p.m. in Kimmel Arena on the campus of UNC Asheville.

Game Notes: Davidson closed the regular season winning 10 of its last 11 games ... The win was the 'Cats' first at Samford ... Davidson out-boarded Samford, 41-27, the 18th time it has outrebounded the opposition ... Davidson's 17 league wins are a school-best, while its 21 overall victories are two off the school-record of 23 set by 2006-07 team ... Davidson finished 9-7 on the road.

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