SPORTS

 

KINGSTON, R.I. — Looking to bounce back to their winning ways, the Davidson Wildcats traveled to Rhode Island on Sunday morning, but struggled to find shots against the Rams’ length, ultimately falling 62-44 from inside the Ryan Center.

The ‘Cats were out-rebounded 43-25 by the Rams, and outscored 34-20 from inside the paint.

Adelaide Fuller, in her first career start, won the opening tip and kicked off the day with Davidson’s first four points of the game. Cassidy Gould and Chloe Welch followed her lead, as they knocked down back-to-back treys on two straight Wildcat possessions and pushed the ‘Cats into an 8-0 scoring run. Thanks to the offensive surge, Davidson had taken a 12-4 lead over the Rams by the first media timeout.

Coming out of the break, Gould continued her strong shooting efforts with another three-pointer, as Davidson was looking at a comfortable 15-6 lead. 

However, Davidson’s advantage would not last long, as the Rams pulled off their own 6-0 run, icing the Wildcats for nearly four minutes, and came within three of the ‘Cats, down just 15-12. Although Rhody tied up the game off a Marta Vargas three, Fuller hit a jumper from the top of the key to regain Davidson’s lead at 17-15, as the Wildcats finished the first quarter having shot 53.8 percent from the floor.

The ‘Cats’ lead to open up the second quarter would be their last of the day, as Davidson shot just 3-of-12 in the second, compared to Rhody’s 7-of-13 shooting. Five turnovers in the final five minutes of the half would cause the Wildcats to go on another four-minute drought, and allow Rhode Island to pull away with a 31-25 lead heading into the final half of play.

Davidson struggled to regain momentum coming out of the intermission, as the ‘Cats would not hit their first field goal of the third quarter until the 5:27 mark, when Suzi-Rose Deegan hit a three-pointer from the near side. Deegan’s threats would not end there either, as she scored seven of the ‘Cats’ 11 third quarter points, along with one steal, one assist and one rebound.

Heading into the final 10 minutes of play, the Wildcats trailed the home team by 13, down 49-36. The Rams’ defense continued to stall Davidson’s offense, as the ‘Cats shot 3-of-11 in the last frame and eventually fell 62-44 in the A-10 conference matchup. 

Deegan led the day for the ‘Cats, scoring 19 points, while Sarah Konstans led on the boards with seven rebounds. Today was Davidson’s first game since Nov. 27 that only one Wildcat scored in double figures.

The Wildcats drop to 6-5 overall and 3-2 in Atlantic 10 play with today’s outcome, and will return to play on Thursday night for a midweek conference match up at Dayton. Tip off is slated for 5 p.m.