Robinson and Thompson Named All-Tournament; Davidson Falls In Title Game, 55-50

Sunday, November 16

Rock Hill, S.C.

1:00 p.m.

Davidson College

Mississippi

Senior Mercedes Robinson and junior Alex Thompson were named to the all-tournament team over the weekend.

Robinson and Thompson Named All-Tournament; Davidson Falls In Title Game, 55-50

11/16/2008 4:14:35 PM | Women's Basketball

Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID

BOX SCORE

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- The Davidson women's basketball team nearly erased an 11-point deficit with under five minutes remaining, but fell just short in its bid for the Winthrop Hilton Garden Inn Classic Title as the Wildcats dropped a 55-50 decision in the championship game on Sunday to Mississippi.

The duo of senior Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore, Md.) and junior Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) were named to the all-tournament team after leading the Wildcats to a 1-1 weekend. Robinson had another double-double on Sunday, dropping in 18 points and pulling down 15 rebounds, tying her career-high, after recording a season-opening 14 points and 10 rebounds against Winthrop the day before.

Robinson registered 10 of her points in the last eight minutes as she tried her best to bring the Wildcats back from a 50-39 deficit midway through the second half.

The 'Cats cut the lead down to four points, 52-48, after Robinson hit 1-of-2 free throws to cap off a 9-2 run with 1:53 left in the game. The senior forward finished the contest 12-of-14 from the charity stripe to set personal bests in both made and attempted free throws.

Shantell Black gave Mississippi a 54-48 lead when she hit a jumper in the lane with 1:30 remaining, but Davidson regrouped and later got a layup from junior Monica Laune (Ashland, Neb.) off an inbounds play with 29 seconds left. The Wildcats then forced a turnover as the Rebels tried to break the full-court press, and quickly called a timeout to set things up on the offensive end.

Out of the timeout, Davidson worked the ball around into the hands of Robinson, who attempted a three-ball from the right corner with 14 seconds left, only to have the ball rattle off the rim and into the hands of Black, forcing the Wildcats to foul. Black hit 1-of-2 free throws to finish off the scoring at 55-50.

Neither team shot the ball particularly well all afternoon with Davidson hitting just 8-of-28 attempts in the first half, and ending the contest at 30.9 percent overall (17-of-55). Mississippi also hit only 30 percent of its tries, but matched the Wildcats (15-for-18) at the free throw line by draining 14-of-17.

Despite their cold shooting in the first half, the Wildcats showed patience and grabbed a 17-9 lead ten minutes into the contest on a three-pointer from Thompson and then a layup from freshman Kristen johnsen (Wayne, Pa.). Thompson capped off her weekend with nine points, three assists, two steals and the eighth block of her career.

The taller Mississippi Rebels though, kept themselves in the game by crashing the boards on the offensive end in the first half, hauling in 17 rebounds off the offensive glass. The Rebels won the battle on the boards for the game, 42-38, but Davidson clapped down on the defensive end in the second half, holding Mississippi to just five offensive boards.

The Rebels chipped away at the Wildcat lead and took it over thanks to a three-point play from Bianca Thomas and then a driving layup from Shantell Black moving the score to 26-21 and just 33 ticks left in the half.

Davidson cut it to three, 26-23, on two Robinson free throws right before the half ended.

Thomas, who was the tournament MVP, led the Rebel attack with 16 points, while Black also hit double digits with 10 points. Mississippi's third guard, Alliesha Easley led the team with eight rebounds.

Davidson continues its six-game road swing to open the season when it heads to Baltimore, Md. to take on the Tigers of Towson, Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7:30.

Game Notes: Davidson fell to 14-13 at in-season tournaments under head coach Annette Watts ... The meeting between the two schools marked the first time they had faced each other ... Junior Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.) matched Robinson in double figures with 10 points and hauled in seven boards off the glass ... Thompson hit the Wildcats' only three-pointer of the afternoon, but it preserved the 'Cats consecutive streak of at least one three-ball in a game to 222.