‘Cats Comeback Falls Three Short in 69-66 Defeat

Tuesday, November 19

Winston-Salem, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Davidson College Athletics

2-2

Wake Forest

2-2

Team	1	2	F
Davidson	26	40	66
Wake Forest	36	33	69

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

‘Cats Comeback Falls Three Short in 69-66 Defeat

11/19/2013 10:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID

Box Score (html)
DavidsonPhotos.com

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Despite putting three players in double figures for the fourth straight game, including a double-double by Hannah Early, Davidson fell just short in their comeback bid at Wake Forest as the 'Cats fell 69-66 Tuesday evening at Joel Coliseum in women's basketball.

The Wildcats (2-2) fell in another close affair with Wake Forest (2-2) on the road. Two years ago, the game went down to the wire with the Demon Deacons holding on for a 68-66 decision.

Early registered her second career double-double on the strength of a game-high 18 points and pulled in a personal-best 11 boards. She also blocked three shots.

Laura Murray followed with 17 points, going 8-for-10 at the charity stripe, and Dakota Dukes just missed her second double-double in a row with 14 points and nine boards. She also pocketed a career-high five steals on the evening.

Wake Forest also put three in double digits with Chelsea Douglas and Dearica Hamby scoring 16 each. All of Douglas' points came in the second half, while Hamby finished with a double-double on 12 rebounds. Millesa Calicott had 10 points.

Down by as many as 16 (56-40) in the second half, the Wildcats rattled off a 13-2 run to cut their deficit to five, 58-53, with Dukes scoring six of those points.

Then after Wake responded to push its lead back to 10 on eight combined points from Douglas and Hamby, Davidson charged right back. A pair of free throws by Dukes made it 67-63 with 1:38 left. After the Demon Deacons' hit 2-of-4 free throws on their next two possessions, Laura Murray buried a shot from three-land on the right wing to make it 69-66 with 36 ticks left.

Davidson had one last chance to send the game into overtime, rebounding a missed Wake shot and taking a timeout with 6.6 ticks left. Out of the timeout, the Wildcats ran a play for Early, who popped out on the left wing and just missed a three-pointer that hit the side of the rim as the buzzer sounded.

Davidson found itself down by 11 in the first half after Hamby hit a layin to make it 23-12 with 7:48 on the clock. Lillian McCabe hit a couple of triples for the Wildcats in the early going.

Chipping away, the Wildcats got a pair of free throws each from Shannon Eriksson and Early to cut the lead to five at 29-24 with 3:19 left in the half. Wake Forest would close the half out in dramatic fashion, hitting a 40-foot buzzer-beater by Mykia Jones to make it 36-26 at the break.

Wake Forest hauled in 28 of their 51 rebounds in the first half and pulled down 25 rebounds on the offensive glass.

Davidson continues on its four-game road trip with a visit to Greensboro, N.C., to face North Carolina A&T Thursday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Davidson is 3-8 all-time vs. Wake Forest … the Wildcats played their third of six road games in the first seven to start the year … Davidson hit 10-of-11 free throws in the second half and finished 19-for-24 in the game … the 'Cats scored 18 points off 24 Wake turnovers … tonight's game was the second of three ACC opponents Davidson will see this year.