SPORTS
A-10 Announces Pairings for Women’s Basketball
Davidson head coach Gayle Coats Fulks talks to her team during a time out.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The Atlantic 10 Conference announced Wednesday the women’s basketball league schedule pairings for the 2018-19 season.
Rising senior Justine Lyon (5) brings the ball up the court in the game vs. Rhode Island.
Davidson, entering its fifth year in the league, will face each of the 13 conference opponents during a 16-game A-10 slate. The Wildcats will play eight home and eight away games.
The home and home series this year will see the Wildcats face Fordham, Massachusetts and Rhode Island for the second year in a row. It marks the fifth consecutive year the ‘Cats will face Fordham twice. In addition, Davidson will host George Mason, La Salle, Richmond, St. Bonaventure and Saint Louis, while playing on the road against Dayton, Duquesne, George Washington, Saint Joseph’s and VCU.
During the 2017-18 season, the Atlantic 10 Conference had seven women’s basketball teams qualify for postseason play. It was also the 15th time in the last 16 years that the A-10 has had multiple teams earn bids to the NCAA Tournament. George Washington defeated Saint Joseph’s in the 2018 Championship final at the Richmond Coliseum, earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The title was George Washington’s third championship in the last four years. The Colonials were joined in the NCAA Tournament by Dayton, who captured the league’s regular season title and made its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last nine seasons.
Rising sophomore Katie Turner (1) goes in for a layup in the game vs. Fordham.
The complete 2018-19 conference schedule with dates and times will be announced at a later date.
Davidson returns nine letterwinners, including two of its top three scorers in senior Justine Lyon (14.6 ppg), the A-10 Most Improved Player in 2016-17, and sophomore Katie Turner (11.4 ppg, 107 assists), who was named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team last year. Lyon reached the 1,000-point career mark a year ago and sits at 1,035 points. She scored in double figures a personal and team-best 25 times and reached the 20-point mark four times. Turner had a stellar freshman season, setting the program’s single season mark for three-pointers with 75 and shooting over 40 percent from behind the arc.
Davidson’s 2018-19 Atlantic 10 Opponents
Home – George Mason, La Salle, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis, Fordham, Massachusetts, Rhode Island
Away – Dayton, Duquesne, George Washington, Saint Joseph’s, VCU, Fordham, Massachusetts, Rhode Island