Davidson Battles to the End Before Season is Halted, 67-64

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DAVIDSON, N.C. — Playing in its first postseason game since 2013, Davidson fought to the last second before seeing its season end, 67-64, against Marshall in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational Wednesday evening inside John M. Belk Arena.

The Wildcats capped off a successful season with a 17-15 mark and its first postseason experience since reaching the second round of the Women's National Invitational in 2012-13. Marshall (17-14) advances to play Appalachian State in the second round of the WBI.

Davidson kept within striking distance the whole second half and nearly pulled out the win. It grabbed its only lead, 64-63, on a Justine Lyon putback with 38 seconds to go. But it was quickly answered by Marshall, much as it had done each time the Wildcats were close to going ahead, with a driving layup from Taylor Pearson at 34 seconds.

Davidson took a timeout to advance the ball and out of the break, Cassidy Gould missed a layup but Lyon again got an offensive rebound and hit the putback, only to have it taken away after a questionable walking call with 15 seconds remaining.

Marshall then hit two of three free throws to make it 67-64 and Lyon's last-second three-point attempt rimmed out at the buzzer to end the game.

In her final collegiate game, Lyon scored 11 points and hauled in seven rebounds to go with two assists. Fellow classmate Kianna Speight had a solid final game as well with 14 points, draining three triples for 71 on the season which is third-most in a single season.

Gould led the 'Cats with 16 points to go with eight rebounds, while Sarah Donovan pulled in 15 rebounds (seven on offense) and had seven points. Katie Turner finished with eight points, six assists and three steals.

The Thundering Herd were paced by Shayna Gore's 19 points, followed by Khadaijia Brooks with 15 points, and Taylor Pearson and Taylor Porter had 11 each.

Davidson erased a 44-32 deficit in the third quarter with a 17-6 run to end the quarter and get within one at 50-49. It would get back within one point three different times (57-56, 61-60 and 63-62) in the fourth quarter before taking the lead at 64-63 in the closing seconds.

Both teams used the three-point shot, each hitting 10 on the night. Marshall finished shooting 45.8 percent, with a 16-of-33 mark in the first two quarters, including 7-of-16 from three-land. The 'Cats were held just 33.3 percent (23-of-69) shooting for the game.

Marshall, which won the first quarter 17-15, used a 12-6 run to open the second quarter and go up 29-21 with under five minutes to go. The 'Cats came back thanks to a pair of triples by Gould and Speight to get within one (29-28) at 3:58, but the momentum would go back to the Herd as they finished the second quarter shooting 9-of-16 from the floor (four were threes) to take a 39-32 lead at the break.

GAME NOTES: This was the eighth meeting all-time between both team's women's basketball programs dating back to when the Wildcats and Herd were in the Southern Conference … Davidson fell to 0-8 in the series … Lyon's double-digit scoring game was the 21st of the season and 72nd of her career … Donovan's 293 rebounds is the second-most in a single season … Davidson finished with a single season record 216 three-pointers, breaking the record of 180 set during the 2007-08 season.

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