SPORTS

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Wildcats fell to 0-3 at the Beach Bubble Showcase against #12 Maryland, Wake Forest, and Florida Gulf Coast University. 

Behind a career-best, 23-point performance from junior Chloe Welch, the Davidson Wildcats produced a gritty effort against in the first game of the tournament, a game against the No. 12 Maryland Terrapins (1-0) before ultimately falling 94-72 to the reigning Big 10 regular season champions in game one of the #BeachBubble. 

As the Terps jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, sophomore Peyton Carter got the ‘Cats on the board with a layup in the opening minutes of her first career start. Fellow classmate Adelaide Fuller got into the mix as well, as the Australian native scored Davidson’s next six points to pull within four of Maryland, trailing 12-8. Later trailing 19-12, Cassidy Gould found Saeeda Abdul-Aziz in the corner to drain a quarter-ending three-pointer that cut Davidson’s deficit to four heading into the second frame. 

The ‘Cats carried their momentum into the second quarter, as Cameron Tabor and Welch drained back-to-back three pointers on two straight possessions that tied the game for the first time at 28 points apiece. Closing out the half, Gould dished one of her four assists on the night, to senior Katie Turner who hit a step-back jumper from beyond the arc to make it a 40-37 game. 

After shooting 41.2 percent from the floor in the first half, and 36.4 percent from range, Davidson went on to shoot just 4-of-18 from beyond the arc in the second half. 

The Terps opened up the final half on a 10-0 run before Gould iced their offensive run with a transition three-pointer. The Wildcats went on to commit a game-high six turnovers in the third quarter, and committed nine personal fouls, to allow Maryland to pull away with a 14-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play. 

In the final frame, Welch scored seven points for the third straight quarter, while Gould picked up five more points, two boards and one assist.

Game 2 pitted the ‘Cats in a hard-fought affair against regional foes, Wake Forest University (1-1). After a slower start, Davidson improved its first half shooting from 41.9 to 48.5 percent in the second, and pulled within six of the Demon Deacons in the final quarter, before falling 85-77.

Junior Chloe Welch and Cassidy Gould led the charge for the second-straight contest, as Welch matched her career-high 23 points and Gould reached a new career-best 18 points. Gould was 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, and went 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. 

Five different Wildcats grabbed five rebounds each, while Welch and Katie Turner ran the floor, passing five assists apiece. 

Welch picked up right where she left off after yesterday’s performance, by draining back-to-back jumpers in the opening minutes of today’s contest. Sophomore Peyton Carter followed suit, banking two straight layups off the glass to cut Davidson’s early deficit to just one point, down 9-8 halfway through the first. But, behind Wake Forest’s 38.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc, the Deacs were able to pull away to a 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter. 

The Wildcat’s defense responded to the deficit however, holding Wake Forest scoreless through the first three minutes of the second frame to make it a 27-22 game with 6:36 to go in the half. Foul trouble for Davidson’s forwards late in the half would tie up the ‘Cats down the stretch, as Wake managed to extend its lead to 49-34, heading into the second half of play. 

Davidson came out of the halftime break reignited by Adelaide Fuller, who scored six points in the paint, to go with a Cameron Tabor three-pointer. The ‘Cats found themselves down 60-48, before Welch drained a long jumper, and Gould scored three-straight three-pointers to keep the game at bay. 

With 8:22 to go in the game, Gould intercepted a Wake Forest pass and found Welch streaking from coast-to-coast, as she was able to drain the fast break layup and settle the score at 72-64. This basket would mark the first time the Wildcats were within eight points of the Demon Deacons since the 4:50 mark in the second quarter. 

Davidson would eventually move as close as six points within Wake Forest in the final minute of play, but the earlier deficits proved to be too much to overcome, as the ‘Cats fell 85-77.

The Wildcats’ bench produced 19 points this morning for the second game in as many days, while the team converted 15 points off Wake Forest’s 13 turnovers. 

In the third game, the Wildcats outscored their opponent in the second half for the second-straight game today, but the hot-shooting FGCU Eagles (2-2) jumped out to an early lead to run away with the 84-61 victory in the final game of bdG Sports’ #BeachBubble.

Peyton Carter won her second-straight opening tip to begin today’s contest, before reaching a new career-high in scoring with 12 points. Cameron Taborled Davidson’s offense efficiently this morning, scoring a career-high 14 points and grabbing six rebounds. Junior Chloe Welch scored the team-high for the third consecutive day, tallying 17 points, along with Adelaide Fuller who recorded 11 points and seven rebounds. 

The Eagles got off to a hot start and never looked back, as they shot nearly 63 percent from the floor and drained eight first-half three-pointers. Davidson fell to an early seven-point deficit, before Tabor got the ‘Cats’ offense rolling with a transition three-pointer for her first basket of the day. After recording just nine first quarter points, the Wildcats picked up speed in the second with Tabor and Welch opening up the frame with five straight points for Davidson. 

Trailing 51-27 going into the second half, the Wildcats came out of the break ready to work. Fuller was once again leading the Davidson comeback, as she recorded four points and five rebounds in the third quarter alone. With 10 bench points and six second-chance points in the quarter, the Wildcats trailed 66-50 going into the final frame of play.

The ‘Cats halted the Eagles’ scoring efforts for the first three minutes of the fourth, and managed to pull within 11 of FGCU for the first time since the seventh minute of the game. From there however, the Eagles hit four more three-pointers to secure their lead and pull off the win, 84-61.

Throughout today’s game, Davidson displayed 18 different lineup combinations with just two managing to outscore the Eagles. Kelly Fitzgerald, Sarah Konstans, Cassidy Gould, Tabor and Fuller shared the floor for a combined 6:51 this morning and outscored FGCU, 15-6. The fivesome averaged nearly 2.2 points per minute and 1.2 points per possession. 

Davidson will now go on a 10-day hiatus for finals, before returning to the floor for their home opener on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 4 p.m. to take on Charleston Southern inside Belk Arena. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.