49ers Get Best of 'Cats in Cross-County Rival Battle, 76-60

Saturday, December 21

Davidson, N.C.

1:00 p.m.

Davidson College

5-7

Charlotte

5-6

Charlotte

Davidson

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

49ers Get Best of 'Cats in Cross-County Rival Battle, 76-60

12/21/2013 4:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID

Box Score (html)
Game Highlights
DavidsonPhotos.com

DAVIDSON, N.C. — Despite getting another 20-point outing from Laura Murray, Davidson came out on the wrong end of a 76-60 decision to cross-county rival Charlotte Saturday afternoon at John M. Belk Arena in women's basketball.

The Wildcats (5-7) fell for the fifth time in the series and saw their two-game win streak come to an end.

Charlotte (5-6) outscored Davidson 45-31 in the second half, shooting 56 percent from the floor and hitting 15-for-19 at the charity stripe.

Murray led all scorers by hitting seven field goals, two of them from behind the arc, and another seven at the free throw line, while hauling in six boards and dishing out three assists. She scored 18 of her 23 in the first half to keep the Wildcats within striking distance.

Dakota Dukes and Shneeka Center gave Davidson three double-figure scorers with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Dukes pulled in 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.

Kira Gordon led four 49ers in double digits with 19 points, while Ciara Gregory (12 points all from three-land), Lefty Webster (12, eight points from free throw line) and Ny Hammonds (10) followed.

A Center three-ball in the early going of the second half gave Davidson its first, and only, lead of the game at 34-33 after trailing 31-29 at the half. The Wildcats were unable to hold onto the momentum as Charlotte, coming out of a 30-second timeout, responded with a 14-3 run over the next few minutes to grab back the lead for good at 47-37 with 12:56 on the clock.

A three-pointer by Gregory, her fourth of the game, followed by a three-point play from Gordon later made it 61-45 with 9:14 left.

Davidson made one last push, going on a 9-1 run capped off by two Murray free throws to get within eight at 64-56 with 3:50 remaining. It was as close as the 'Cats got the rest of the way with Charlotte pushing its lead back to 16 on the final score.

The Wildcats showed a little rust from a 12-day layoff, falling behind three times in the first half by 10 points while shooting just 3-of-13.

Murray then caught fire, scoring 13 of Davidson's last 16 points in the half as the Wildcats used a 16-3 run to turn a 26-13 deficit into just a two-point deficit at the break.

Davidson finished shooting just 36.2 percent and pulled in 36 rebounds compared to Charlotte's 44.

Davidson takes some time off for Christmas, before closing out a six-game homestand with a 2 p.m. contest against Richmond, Dec. 28.

GAME NOTES: The Wildcats are 10-14 all-time vs. Charlotte … Murray's 23-point outing, the third game in a row she's scored over 20, was her eighth 20-point game of the season and 25th of her career … the senior is just 12 points away from moving into second place all-time in school history in points, sitting with 1,499 after today.