Stout Defensive Effort at Furman Carries Davidson to 5-0 SoCon Mark

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GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Davidson women's basketball team turned up the defensive intensity on Saturday at Furman, holding the Paladins to 26.6 percent shooting, and forcing 21 turnovers while turning those into 23 points on their way to picking up a 61-50 Southern Conference road win at Timmons Arena.

The Wildcats (9-5, 5-0 SoCon) remained perfect in league play as it took over first place by knocking off the Paladins, who were tied with the 'Cats and fell to 8-6 overall and 4-1 in the SoCon.

The dynamic scoring duo of Laura Murray (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Sophia Aleksandravicius (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) were at it again, scoring 20 and 15 points, respectively, to pace the Wildcat attack. The pair also combined for 15 rebounds.

Katrin Chiemeka (Marienthal, France) iced the win with three free throws and finished with 10 points.

All five starters scored all 61 points for Davidson, with Kristen Johnsen (Wayne, Pa.) adding nine points and Barbara Sitton (Richmond, Va.) chipping in seven to go with her four assists and five rebounds.

Furman had a pair of double-figure scorers with Brittany Hodges getting 12 and Janice Roberts scoring 10 off the bench.

Davidson's defense held the Paladins to 26 percent shooting in the first half and forced 12 turnovers, helping it grab a 10-point advantage. A Murray steal and fastbreak layup followed by a triple gave the 'Cats an early 14-5 lead. They pushed it out to 19-11 on a Sitton three-ball, one of two she hit in the half, but the Wildcat offense stalled allowing the Paladins to come back.

A five-minute scoring drought by the Wildcats allowed Furman to cut the lead to one at 21-20 with 2:47 left in the half. Teshia Griswold led the charge with six points.

Davidson though closed on a 9-0 run capped off by a Johnsen putback before the buzzer sounded for a 30-20 lead.

The second half saw Aleksandravicius give the 'Cats a 36-24 lead four minutes in on a layup, but Furman cut the advantage to 38-35 later on a three-pointer from Lashana Booker at the 11:41 mark.

Murray helped put the Paladins away when she scored nine of the Wildcats next 12 points and Davidson used a 12-5 run to open up a 52-40 lead with around seven minutes to play.

Chiemeka drained a three-ball for Davidson's biggest lead at 57-42 at the 4:45 mark and the lead never went under 10 points the rest of the way.

The Wildcats wrap up a quick two-game road trip to the state of South Carolina on Monday night at Wofford with tipoff set for 6 p.m. The game can be heard on the Davidson radio network, which can be found on davidsonwildcats.com.

Game Notes: Davidson snapped a three-game losing streak in the series to Furman ... at 5-0, Davidson is off to its best start in conference play since going 7-0 in 2008-09… the Wildcats have won seven of their last eight contests, while also winning seven of their last eight league games dating back to last year … Furman's bench scored 26 of its 50 points ... Murray's 20-point effort was the 10th of her career and fifth this season ... Davidson is two wins away from reaching 350 as a program.

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