SPORTS

 

BOCA RATON, Fla. — In the first ever meeting between Davidson and Florida Atlantic’s women’s basketball programs, the Wildcats came out on top of the one-possession thriller, 61-58, in the final game of the FAU Invitational on Saturday.

Freshman Issy Morgan took over, dropping a new career-high and game-high 19 points along with three assists and three rebounds. Senior Chloe Welch also reached double-figures in scoring for the third time this season with 13 points to pair with three assists of her own and four boards. 

Overall, Davidson went 13-of-14 from the charity stripe against the Owls, including a perfect 7-of-7 in the defining fourth quarter. 

Florida Atlantic took a 6-0 lead to start off the day, before the Wildcats held the Owls scoreless for two minutes while Welch sank a floater from the top of the key. The Colorado native then hit Davidson’s first three-pointer of the day, to pull the ‘Cats back within three at 10-7. 

As the Wildcats worked to close the gap completely, Morgan took matters into her own hands and scored Davidson’s next eight points, to give the Wildcats their first lead of the day, 17-15, with 8:28 to go in the half.

FAU later regained a one-point lead, but the ‘Cats rattled off an 8-2 run to take over a 25-20 advantage. Despite the Owls tying things up at 25 apiece, Elle Sutphin and Welch combined for five points to close out the half with a 30-27 lead.

The ‘Cats and Owls then went neck-and-neck in the third, each shooting 5-of-10 from the field and FAU winning the third by just a one-point margin at 16-15.

In the fourth and final frame, it would be the Wildcats who came out on top of the second-straight 16-15 point quarter, thanks to their perfect 7-of-7 effort from the free throw line. With three minutes to go, Davidson had a 57-54 lead over the Owls before FAU’s Sofia Galeron drained a near-side three and the consequential free throw. 

Though the Owls led 58-57 with 1:32 left on the clock, junior Adelaide Fuller sank the go-ahead layup with 24 seconds remaining and senior Cassidy Gould sealed the deal with two makes from the charity stripe for Davidson’s fifth straight victory. 

Up Next
The ‘Cats will have a two-week break for exams before returning to the floor on Sunday, Dec. 12 at Elon.