SPORTS
Davidson Women’s Basketball Hangs Tough Early, Falls to No. 9 N.C. State
Sarah Donovan shooting for 3 in the match up against N.C. State.
Check out our complete photo gallery of News of Davidson photos from this game.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Davidson went into halftime tied against the ninth team in the country and had a brief lead to start the third quarter, but its upset bid fell short as N.C. State took over in the third and pulled away for a 75-45 win Sunday afternoon inside James T. Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum.
Justine Lyon scored 16 against the Wolfpack, including several breakaway layups.
Sarah Donovan drained a triple to start the third quarter to give Davidson a 30-27 lead. It would be the Wildcats’ last lead as the Wolfpack ran off a 19-2 run on their way to winning the quarter, 24-9, and grabbing a 51-36 advantage.
No. 9 N.C. State (13-0) would lead by as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter on its way to picking up its 13th straight win to start the year. Davidson was playing its first ranked top-10 team since facing No. 7 Georgia during the 2007-08 season.
Justine Lyon paced the Wildcats (6-7) with 16 points on 8-of-15 shooting and added six rebounds to go with a pair of assists. The ‘Cats were credited with just five assists on the afternoon after averaging 20 the past three games.
Kelly Fitzgerald hit the double-digit mark for the third time this year with 10 points and Katie Turner had six.
Behind Lyon’s hot hand in the first two quarters, Davidson kept the Wolfpack on their heels. After the senior hit a buzzer-beating layup to make it 17-10 to end quarter one, Lyon sparked a 13-5 run with eight points to turn a 20-14 deficit into a 27-25 lead in the second quarter. The guard, who scored 10 points in the second quarter, twice had a steal and easy fast-break layup during the spurt.
Kelly Fitzgerald shooting at pull up jump shot over a Wolfpack defender.
The Wolfpack would score one last bucket just before halftime for a 27-all tie.
It was a tough shooting day for the Wildcats, who were just 18-of-64 from the floor including a combined 11-for-30 in the final two quarters. N.C. State finished the day at 45.6 percent (31-of-68) and went 9-for-27 from behind the arc.
Ten Wolfpack players scored on the day with Aislinn Konig (17) and Kiara Leslie (13) reaching double figures. Grace Hunter had 10 rebounds to give N.C. State a 51-36 advantage on the glass.
Davidson begins the new calendar year with its first Atlantic 10 game at home against George Mason, Jan. 6.
GAME NOTES: This was the ninth meeting all-time between both team’s women’s basketball programs dating back to Jan. 20, 1975 … the Wildcats fell to 8-1 in the series, with the Wolfpack winning its eighth straight …. today’s meeting was the fifth time in the past six years both teams have faced each other, all at Reynolds Coliseum… Lyon’s double-figure scoring game was the 57th of her career … Turner hit a pair of three-pointers to cross over the 100-career mark in just two seasons.
When someone who is 6’5″ (#33) jumps in your way – you go around them for the layup.