SPORTS
Donovan Doubles Up Again, Davidson Women’s Basketball Scores 71-62 Win
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Sarah Donovan tallied her fourth double-double of the season and Davidson closed out a busy six-day stretch with a solid 71-62 home win against High Point Monday evening inside John M. Belk Arena.
Davidson, playing its third game in six days, moved to 4-3 on the season with its second straight victory and won its fifth straight in the series against High Point (2-3).
Donovan had game highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds to pace the offense. Ally Welling scored 15 points, one off her career-high, and Katie Turner dropped in 12 to go with five assists.
The Wildcats led from start to finish and were up by as many as 16 points (59-43) to start the fourth quarter.
They were threatened just twice, but responded each time. HPU got within 40-36 in the early going of the third quarter, but the ‘Cats came back with a 17-7 run to close out the quarter. Donovan had 10 points and five rebounds alone in the quarter.
Then in the fourth quarter, the Panthers closed to 63-59 at 3:43 and Davidson was forced to use a timeout. Out of the 30 second break, Turner canned a three-ball to start a 9-3 run to finish out the game for the win.
High Point had three double-figure scorers, led by Emma Bockrath’s 17 points. She added seven rebounds, four assists and five steals. Shea Morgan had 16 points and Bria Gibson added 14 points off the bench.
Davidson hit 20-of-25 free throws, led by Donovan’s 7-for-8 showing. It also had a 38-28 edge on the glass and scored 19 second-chance points, a new season high.
Behind an excellent first-quarter shooting performance, 7-of-12 on field goals and 8-for-10 at the charity stripe, Davidson grabbed a 25-13 lead. The 25 points tied a season-high in the first quarter.
The Wildcats maintained a double-digit lead the majority of the second quarter, holding a 36-24 lead after a Chloe Welch layup with 3:18 to go and went into the break up 40-32.
Davidson will travel to Princeton, N.J., to face the Princeton Tigers this Sunday at 2 p.m.
GAME NOTES: This was the 13th meeting between both school’s women’s basketball programs dating back to 1976 … Davidson leads 8-5 in the series with the win tonight … both teams were facing each other for the eighth straight season … the 20 made free throws were one off a season high this season … Donovan now has eight double-doubles for her career … Davidson has had at least three double-figure scorers in all seven games this year.