NEWS

 

Editors’ note: as Jane Campbell was writing this article, one of our readers was writing her own summary of this special season. While these two articles highlight similar aspects of the women’s 2023-24 basketball season, we are publishing both because they each capture the writer’s perspective of this season.

Davidson College recently announced that the Women’s Basketball program was finished for the season. The ‘Cats would not play their final road game, nor participate in the A-10 Tournament. This came on the heels of cancelling two games in February.

The news has made local and national outlets as well as the scrolling “crawler” on a couple sports networks. Only a few of those stories provided much more detail beyond the eye-catching headline.

The unprecedented ending was particularly cruel to a season that had a historic beginning. This year the Davidson women had their best start in the history of the program.

But what happened this year? How did a team go from beating Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium, beating Wake Forest in Belk Arena, and almost beating the Tar Heels in Carmichael to cancelling their season? The short answer is injuries. That, too, is the long answer.

Before the season even started, two scholar-athletes were injured and would likely miss the entire season. Senior Sallie Schutz and junior Tomisin Adenupe were still part of the team, cheering on their teammates from the bench or back bench.

Even with the pre-season loss of those two scholar-athletes, the Wildcats still had 11 players dressed out for games at the beginning of the season.

The ‘Cats were winning at home and on the road. As 2023 came to a close, the ‘Cats had an impressive 11-1 record. The first game of 2024, an away game at LaSalle, was another win to put them at 12-1.

As a result, the Wildcats started getting votes in the AP Top 25 rankings. In the middle of their season, the lone loss in 13 games was to #16 Carolina. They lost that game at Carmichael Arena 74-70.

Elle Sutphin had suffered an injury in late November that many feared was a season-ender. That one wasn’t. Sutphin returned to the ‘Cats active bench as they played that conference opener against LaSalle.

Then on January 10, the ‘Cats suffered the unthinkable. Fifth year senior starter Rosie Deegan and first year scholar-athlete Sylvie Jackson were injured in the game in Fairfax, Virginia against George Mason. Neither player would return to the active roster for the remainder of the season. Deegan had not only started all 15 games at the outset of the season, she led the ‘Cats in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game. She also averaged nearly 30 minutes of playing time per game.

However, the ‘Cats still had nine players on the active roster. That allowed Coach Fulks to use the bench to give the starters rest, moderating the number of minutes played.

Then in late January, Elle Sutphin was injured again. This time she missed the four games between January 24 and February 3. She returned to the active roster for three games in mid-February but was not on the active roster for what turned out to be the final game of the season on February 28.

In the midst of that part of the schedule, Virginia Tech transfer Charlise Dunn had picked up considerable playing time for the ‘Cats. She had become a starter when Elle Sutphin was first injured in late November. She remained a starter until she was injured just moments into the game at Loyola-Chicago on February 11. She did not return to the active roster. During her time as a starter, between November 29 and February 11, Dunn averaged more than 32 minutes a game.

With Dunn’s injury, the ‘Cats active roster was down to eight scholar-athletes. But the ‘Cats played on. The players who suited up seemed to carry their injured teammates on their shoulders.

The Wildcats also took the unusual, but not unprecedented, action of adding two players to the roster. Seniors Mallory Justis and KP Peterson joined the team, and both got playing time in the road game against Rhode Island on February 17.

And in the category of nothing about this season was normal, even the typically routine process of honoring Seniors was complicated for the ‘Cats. Originally, the Seniors were to be honored before the Saturday, February 24, home game versus Fordham. However, that was one of the two games the ‘Cats were forced to cancel.

Ultimately, members of the Class of 2024 were honored before the midweek, Wednesday game against George Washington on February 28. Seniors Rosie Deegan, Maddie Plank, Elle Sutphin, and Sallie Schutz were joined by classmates and new roster additions, Justis and Peterson.

The injuries were front and center in that game. Of the four full-season seniors, only Maddie Plank was dressed out to play. And play she did, leading the team on and off the court. She was playing with 100% intensity and an additional 10% of pure motivation. She played her heart out for 25 minutes in that game, right up until she, too, was injured.

Everyone watching the game that night recognized the fortitude required by the ‘Cats to return to the court for their next game. The crowd was there to show their support for this amazing team. And when Maddie went down, you could have heard a pin drop. The chorus of audible gasps seemed to suck all the air out of Belk Arena. Helped off the court, she was taken directly down the tunnel to the locker room.

But even injury couldn’t keep Maddie Plank off the bench. Just as the third quarter came to a close, Plank jogged back to the bench. She had a black brace on her right knee and did not return to play, but her presence was seen and felt by her teammates and the coaching staff.

Tied starting the fourth quarter, less than a minute in, a jump shot from first year scholar-athlete Katie Donovan gave the ‘Cats a 33-31 lead. They held the lead at 40-39, but then with just over three minutes to play, George Washington took the lead. The game ended 45-40.

Just two days later, the announcement came of the unexpected end of the 2023-24 season. Even with the abrupt end, the ‘Cats closed out this season with an 18-8 overall record. They were 8-7 in the A-10. They fueled Wildcat fans near and far with an 11-4 home court record, and a 7-4 road record.

No doubt more will be said about this historic season, but until then – here is the list of the amazing members of the 2023-24 women’s basketball team. These scholar-athletes will still be busy in classrooms, labs, and across campus. And if all else goes well, six of them will walk across the dais at commencement on May 12.

Go Wildcats!

 

The Wildcat Scholar-Athletes on the 2023-24 Roster

Suzi-Rose “Rosie” Deegan

5’10” (Senior) Guard from Perth, Australia

Injured January 10, did not return to play

 

Mallorie Haines

5’10” (Junior) Guard from Sherrills Ford, NC

 

Katie Donovan

5’11” (First Year) Guard from Gold Coast, Australia

 

Issy Morgan

5’10” (Junior) Guard from Sydney, Australia

 

Chloe Oliver

5’8” (First Year) Guard from Quebec, Canada

 

Millie Prior

6’2” (Junior) Forward from Sydney, Australia

 

Tomisin Adenupe

6’1” (Junior) Forward from Marietta, Georgia

Injured pre-season, did not play

 

Maddie Plank

5’11” (Senior) Guard from Briarcliff Manor, NY

Injured February 28 – final game of the season

 

Eliza Buerk

6’3” (First Year) Forward from Portland, Oregon

 

Charlise Dunn

6’2” (Sophomore) Guard from Victoria, Australia

Injured February 11, did not return to play

 

Sylvia Jackson

6’0” (First Year) Guard from Zion Crossroads, Virginia

Injured January 10, did not return to play

 

Mallory Justis*

Senior – added to the roster in Feb.

 

Sallie Schutz

6’2” (Senior) Guard/Forward from Watkinsville, Georgia

Injured pre-season, did not play

 

Elle Sutphin

6’3” (Senior) Forward from Pilot Mountain, N.C.

Several injuries during the season, out for final game of the season

 

KP Peterson*

Senior – added to the roster in Feb.

 

*added to the active roster prior to the February 17 game at Rhode Island.