NEWS

 

For the second year in a row, the Wildcats will host the Newberry Wolves for their exhibition season opener at Belk Arena.

The Newberry college women’s basketball team was tabbed eighth in the South Atlantic Conference preseason poll. Newberry sits three points behind the Bears at eighth in the poll, receiving 71 points.

The Wolves return their two top scorers, Guilia Bongiorno (Rome, Italy) and Ericka Wiseley (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.). Bongiorno led the team in points with 271, assists with 73, steals with 42, and was tied for the team lead in total rebounds with 134. Wiseley was the team’s second leading scorer with 232 points. She led the team in blocks with 27 and her 124 total rebounds were third highest on the team.

For the third straight year, the Wildcats began their annual preseason training camp ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

In what has now become a program tradition, the Wildcats participated in four days of full-team practices, film sessions and team building exercises from Thursday to Sunday.  

“I’m thrilled to bring back our “training camp” model for a third consecutive season,” said head coach Gayle Fulks, who enters her sixth season at the helm. “This immersive approach allows us to prepare for our season and let our players really come together as a team. We are an experienced squad that is ready to build upon its already solid foundation and great team chemistry.”

THE GIST

• Davidson will officially tip off the season on Monday, Nov. 7 at High Point. The match up will be the 15th all-time meeting between the Panthers and Wildcats, as Davidson holds the series record at a 10-5 advantage.
• The ‘Cats will come home for the first time this season on Saturday, Nov. 12 against Duke, as the Blue Devils make their return trip to Davidson after the Wildcats visited Durham in November of 2019.
• The 2022-23 campaign features one exhibition match against Newberry College, 14 non-conference games (4 Home, 3 Neutral, 7 Away) and 16 Atlantic 10 match ups.
• Through the A-10’s robust media agreements and all-encompassing streaming package with ESPN+, every home game for all 14 league members will be available on TV or digitally, with the Wildcats set to make two national television appearances this year on CBSSN. The first will be on New Year’s Day at Fordham, and the second at Duquesne on Jan. 22. Additionally, Davidson’s non-conference match up against NC State on Thursday, Dec. 15 will air on the ACC Network at 8 p.m.

CATCH UP WITH THE ‘CATS

• Last season concluded with a win at the Women’s Basketball Invitational, in Lexington, Kentucky, in Davidson’s fifth all-time postseason appearance. The Wildcats wrapped up the year with a 66-58 victory over Austin Peay, to end the 2021-22 campaign with an 18-15 overall record, marking the most wins in a single season since 2012-13 and the most in Head Coach Gayle Fulks‘ tenure. The WBI Consolation Championship victory also marked the third postseason win in program history.
• Davidson returns 81 percent of its offense from a season ago, including Chloe Welch, who returned to the Wildcats for a fifth year after averaging 10.7 points per game during her senior season. The Colorado native also led the ‘Cats during 2021-22 in rebounding, averaging 4.9 boards per game.
• Among those returning also includes Elle Sutphin, Issy Morgan and Suzi-Rose Deegan. As a redshirt sophomore, Sutphin averaged a team-best 13.4 points per game and shot 52.2 percent from the field, good for third-best across the Atlantic 10. An All-Rookie selection in her debut season, Morgan started in Davidson’s final 16 games, averaging 8.3 points per game and scoring in double-figures in six of her last eight games. Deegan, who appeared in 16 games last season making seven starts, is also back for the ‘Cats after averaging 10.1 points per game.
• After shooting a team-best 35.1 percent from beyond the arc as a junior, Cameron Tabor returns for her senior season, in addition to classmates Peyton Carter and Adelaide Fuller.
• In all, Davidson returns 11 letter winners and three newcomers in transfers Millie Prior (Fordham) and Maddie Plank (Princeton) and freshman Riana Doctor.