SPORTS

 

BRONX, N.Y. — After trailing early on in the first quarter, the Davidson Wildcats had an offensive explosion in the second and never looked back, as they defeated conference rival Fordham University, 79-64 this afternoon.

Suzi-Rose Deegan, Chloe Welch and Katie Turner each scored in double-figures, marking the sixth game this season that the ‘Cats have had three or more scorers reach double-digits. In just her second appearance this season, reigning A-10 Rookie of the Year, Deegan, rattled off a game-high 20 points, on 9-of-12 shooting. Welch followed suit with 16 points of her own, in addition to Turner’s 13 points and six assists.

Davidson’s bench provided 34 points in the win, while the Wildcats dished 16 assists and scored 15 points off turnovers as a team. The ‘Cats also shot 53.8 percent from the floor in today’s game, marking a season-best scoring effort from the team.

Welch got the Wildcats on the board inside Rose Hill Gym today, kissing a layup off the glass in the opening minutes of play. After Welch’s bucket, Fordham froze Davidson’s offense, as the ‘Cats went on a nearly four-minute scoring drought, before Adelaide Fuller hit a layup to make it a 9-4 game.

With Fuller’s basket, Davidson saw itself fall into another scoreless stretch, this time as the Wildcats fell behind 13-4 with three minutes remaining in the frame. However, just as the quarter began to wind down, Davidson started to find its momentum with Peyton Carter and Cameron Tabor combining for seven points to pull within three of the Rams, down just 14-11.

Opening up the second half, Turner and Sarah Konstans hit back-to-back three’s, allowing Davidson to take its first lead of the day, at a 17-16 advantage. Konstans helped extend that lead to 19-16, before the ‘Cats were iced for another two minutes, allowing the Rams to regain the lead, 21-19, with 4:57 remaining in the half. From there, the Wildcats ignited a 14-3 run over the final five minutes and boasted a 33-24 lead heading into the break.

Turner got Davidson’s offense rolling again in the second half, with another trey that pushed the Wildcats’ lead to 36-26 at the 8:13 mark. Despite that lead, the Rams offense went to work and cut Davidson’s advantage down to just four points. As Fordham tried to continue its offensive surge, Konstans stripped the ball from the Rams and turned around to drain the jumper on the other end of the floor. Leading 40-34, Deegan and Tabor sank two buckets from beyond the arc to cap off Davidson’s 56.3 percent shooting in the third.

Over the final 10 minutes of play, the Wildcats shot 54.5 percent from the field, and went 9-of-11 from the charity stripe to lead by as many as 24 points and secure the Atlantic 10 opening win, 79-64 over the Fordham Rams.

The ‘Cats will have an 11 day break over the holidays and return to the floor on New Year’s Day to continue Atlantic 10 play against George Washington University, from inside Belk Arena.