SPORTS

Junior Cassidy Gould had a career high 25 points in the ‘Cats first round game vs. the Bonnies. (this photo from the final home game of the season)

RICHMOND, Va. — For the fourth time this season, four Wildcats reached double figures in scoring to ignite Davidson’s offense and lift the ‘Cats past St. Bonaventure, 69-61, in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament Wednesday afternoon.

Junior Cassidy Gould paced the Wildcats, as the Australian reached a new career-high in scoring with 25 points off 8-of-12 shooting. Fellow classmate Sarah Konstans led Davidson on both ends of the floor, recording the second double-double of her career with 10 points and 15 rebounds. Adelaide Fuller and Katie Turner scored 17 and 11 points, respectively, while Turner hit three treys and is now just two three-pointers away from taking over the program record for career three’s.

Gould lit up the floor for the Wildcats in the first half, scoring 19 of Davidson’s first 32 points. Despite falling behind 15-13 after the first quarter, the ‘Cats responded with 50 percent shooting in the second and capped off the half with a 6-0 run to pull away to a solid 32-26 lead heading into the break. 

The ‘Cats carried their second quarter momentum into the third, this time thanks to hot-shooting from Fuller. Opening the half with four straight points from the sophomore, Davidson had extended its lead to 10, and built Bonaventure’s largest deficit of the day, 36-26. With a Turner trey from the half-court logo, the Wildcats commanded the game, 41-28, until the Bonnies ended the frame on a small spurt to pull within three of Davidson, down just 49-46.

Davidson turned the pressure back on in the fourth, going 6-of-8 from the charity stripe and two three-pointers from Turner, which put the game out of reach despite the Bonnies’ best efforts. 

The Wildcats advanced to Thursday’s second round where they faced fifth-seeded VCU on its home court at the Siegel Center.