Team Effort Guides Davidson to First Win of Season, 63-54

Sunday, November 18

Morehead, Ky.

7:00 p.m.

Davidson College

1-2

Kennesaw State

0-4

Davidson

Kennesaw State

Katrin Chiemeka had five points, four boards and two assists in the 'Cats first win of the season.

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

Team Effort Guides Davidson to First Win of Season, 63-54

11/18/2012 9:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID

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MOREHEAD, Ky. – Eleven Wildcats etched their names in the scorer's book, led by Sophia Aleksandravicius' (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) 15 points, and Davidson closed out the preseason Women's Basketball NIT with a 63-54 win over Kennesaw State in the third round of the consolation bracket Sunday evening in Johnson Arena on the campus of Morehead State.

Aleksandravicius reached the double-digit mark for the second game in a row and added six rebounds. She finished the two-day consolation rounds with 33 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks and six steals.

Hannah Early (Huntersville, N.C.) came off the bench for nine points and six rebounds, Sarah Davis (St. Clair, Mich.) collected seven points and Dakota Dukes (Raleigh, N.C.) dropped in six points to finish with a total of 20 points for the two days.

Barbara Sitton (Richmond, Va.) had four points, five rebounds and five assists to go with a couple of steals. She finished the two games vs. NIU and KSU with eight points, five rebounds, nine assists and four steals.

Davidson (1-2) held Kennesaw State to 32.3 percent shooting, while forcing 20 turnovers. The Wildcats turned those into 24 points. They also dominated inside, dropping in 32 points in the paint and getting 33 points from their bench.

The Owls (0-3), who hit 12 of their 20 field goals for the game from behind the arc, were led by Chelsea Mason's 13 points. Sametria Gideon recorded a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Wildcats continued its defensive pressure from the night before vs. Northern Illinois, holding Kennesaw State scoreless through the first six and a half minutes to open the game. Meanwhile, the offense jumped out to a 10-2 lead with Dukes and Aleksandravicius combining for four each.

Early got in on the scoring later, draining a triple and putting in a breakaway layup for a 17-7 lead with 7:56 left in the half. Then Aleksandravicius went on a scoring spree of her own, netting seven points in row to give Davidson a commanding 27-7 advantage. KSU would hit four three-balls before the end of the half to cut the deficit to 31-19 at the break.

The second half saw the 'Cats defense hold the Owls without a field goal for seven minutes while pushing its lead out to 42-20 on a Davis free throw with 13:50 remaining. Shneeka Center (Smithtown, N.Y.) gave the Wildcats their biggest lead at 60-34 when she swished home one of the 'Cats' four treys with 5:08 left, and they cruised the rest of the way for the win.

Davidson continues on its six-game road swing to open the campaign with a post-Thanksgiving trip to New Jersey to take on Rutgers for the first time Sunday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m.

GAME NOTES: This was the first meeting between both schools … Sitton is three assists from moving into second place all-time in assists as she has 339 … Davidson shot 50 percent in the second half, the first time this year its hit that mark in the first three games … Aleksandravicius needs 168 more points and 51 more rebounds to be the program's all-time leader in both categories.