SPORTS

 

DAVIDSON, N.C. — In their final regular season home game, the Davidson women’s basketball team looks close it out strong when they play Rhode Island Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Atlantic 10 action in John M. Belk Arena.

The Wildcats (16-11, 10-4 A-10) are sitting in third in the league standings, behind VCU (12-2) and Fordham (11-3). The 10 league wins for the ‘Cats are a program best, topping last year’s total of seven, and the most since getting 11 in the Southern Conference during the 2013-14 season.

The Rams (7-19, 2-12 A-10) enter the contest having lost their last 10 straight games, dating back to Jan. 20.

Opening Tip …
•Davidson is in its 40th season and has collected 449 wins in program history.
•The ‘Cats are in their fifth year in the Atlantic 10 after a 21-year run in the SoCon.
•Davidson was picked 11th in the A-10 preseason poll, while Justine Lyon was all-second team.
•10 letterwinners return and three starters from a year ago, while three freshmen were added.
•Head coach Gayle Coats Fulks is in her second year (28-29) and has a 3-0 record vs. the Rams.

Last Game Out vs. Saint Louis, Feb. 23 …
•Senior Justine Lyon scored a game-high 19 points and Davidson came back in the second half in pulling out a tightly-contested 60-57 win on Senior Day against Saint Louis.
•Lyon swished home a season-best 6-of-8 free throws and also pulled in nine rebounds for the second straight game and tied her season best with four steals.
•The ‘Cats sealed up the win by swishing home four straight free throws in the last eight seconds, two each by Cassidy Gould (16 points) and senior Kianna Speight.
•A 19-1 run that spanned from the 5:43 mark of the third quarter to the 7:19 mark in the fourth quarter helped the Wildcats overcome an eight-point deficit. The lead grew to 10 in the fourth (54-44).

A-10 Notes …
•Sarah Donovan (Jan. 14) and Justine Lyon (Dec. 17) have each been named A-10 Players of the Week, while Cassidy Gould (Dec. 17) has earned Rookie of the Week once.
•Davidson ranks among the top-5 in the A-10: points, free throw percentage, three-pointers made, rebounds, assists and steals, topping the league in assists per game (14.6).
•Katie Turner tops the league in assists per game (4.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3).
•Sarah Donovan leads the league in rebounding (8.9, 241) and is sixth in field goal percentage (.456).
•Kianna Speight is second in 3-pointers made per game (2.3, 62).

Wildcat All-Time Record Watch …
•Justine Lyon became the 20th player in program history to reach 1,000 points last year and currently sits in 7th place all-time with 1,377. The senior also ranks in several other top-15 categories including: field goals/free throws made (9th, 504/6th, 278) and three-pointers (14th, 91).
•Kianna Speight has 128 career three-pointers for 9th-most all-time, while Katie Turner sits right behind her with 126 career three-pointers.

Random Notes …
•Davidson’s 16 wins this year are the most since collecting 16 during the 2013-14 campaign.
•The Wildcats’ 10 league wins are a program best and the most league wins since 11 in 2013-14.
•Sarah Donovan has 10 double-doubles this season to give her 13 on her career list.
•It is the most double-doubles since Mackenzie Latt recorded 11 as a freshman in 2014-15.
•Donovan is averaging 13.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and shooting 49.7 percent in league games.
•The sophomore is averaging a double-double the last five games (12.4 ppg & 10.0 rpg).
•Lyon is eighth in scoring at 14.1 points per game and fifth in steals (1.9 per game) vs. A-10 foes.
•Katie Turner’s 121 assists and Kianna Speights’ 62 threes rank in the top-10 single-season records.
•The Wildcats are 9-3 at home (5-2 vs. A-10), which is the most wins since going 9-2 in 2012-13.
•They are averaging 70.0 points at home and four of the five starters are scoring in double figures.
•22 of the 27 games this year has seen Davidson pull in 10 or more offensive rebounds.
•Four times they have had 50-plus rebounds overall and four times with 20-plus offensive boards.
•Davidson has had at least three double-digit scorers in 23 of the 27 games this year.
•Katie Turner has led the team in scoring 10 times, including 3 of the last 5 games (13.0 ppg).
•The Wildcats hold a 16-2 record when leading with five minutes left in the game.
•Davidson set a single-season record vs. Saint Louis for made threes when it hit six for a new record of 185, breaking the mark of 180 set during 2007-08.

All-Time Series vs. Rhode Island …
•The Wildcats and Rams are playing for the eighth time and the ‘Cats hold a 4-3 lead in the series.
•Davidson won its fourth straight earlier this year with a 77-67 come-from-behind road win, Jan. 12.

Scouting the Rams …
•Rhode Island dropped its 10th straight with a 55-48 setback to Saint Joseph’s last Sunday.
•The Rams were up 13 in the first quarter, but the Hawks rallied and never looked back.
•Nicole Jorgensen had her 18th double-double in the game, scoring 21 points and hauling 11 rebounds.
•She is second on the team at 13.2 ppg and has a team-best 7.7 rebounds a game.
•Elemy Colome is tops on the team at 14.3 points per game.
•Rhode Island is 4-9 on the road this year, 2-5 vs. A-10 foes.
•The Rams have 140 blocks on the season, good for most in the A-10 (5.5 per game).
•They were picked to finish 13th in the preseason poll.

A Look Ahead …
Davidson wraps up the regular season with a trip to Richmond, Va., to take on first-place VCU Saturday at 1 p.m.