Davidson College Sports Information
CULLOWHEE, N.C. — Western Carolina used a late 12-3 run to open up a tightly contested game and Davidson never was able to recover on the road, falling 60-48 on Wednesday evening in Southern Conference women’s basketball action at the Ramsey Center.

Tied at 39-all with 9:39 left in the game after Laura Murray hit a pair of free throws, the Catamounts (4-10, 2-3 SoCon) used the game-changing run to open up a 52-42 lead and Davidson was forced to call a timeout. Caitlin Hollifield sparked the run with six of the points and was one of three Catamounts to reach double figures, finishing with 11.

Emily Clarke came off the bench to hit for 14 points, 12 of them on three-pointers, while Rena Wakama had 10 as Western snapped a four-game losing streak.

The ‘Cats (5-7, 1-3 SoCon) also had three reach the double-digit mark, with Murray going for 15 points. The freshman scored seven of her 15 at the charity stripe, going 7-for-8, and also hauled in a game-high eight boards.

Sophia Aleksandravicius had 12 points and seven boards, while Shneeka Center had her second double-figure game with 11 points. The freshman canned three of the ‘Cats’ five treys for the game.

Center had helped the Wildcats erase a 25-22 halftime deficit with a pair of shots from downtown in the early goings of the second half. Her third three-ball gave Davidson a 32-29 lead and two more Murray free throws pushed the lead out to 36-31 shortly thereafter with 15:06 on the clock.

Davidson finished 17-for-20 at the charity stripe, while Western went 13-for-19, hitting five of those free throws in the closing minute to seal the win.

The first half saw seven lead changes and three ties. Tied at 19-all, Western’s Clarke canned back-to-back threes for a 25-19 lead, before Center buried a trey with three ticks to make the halftime score 25-22.

GA. SOUTHERN SATURDAY

Davidson continues its three-game road swing with a trip to Statesboro, Ga., where it faces the Georgia Southern Eagles on Saturday, Jan. 8 with tip set for 3 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Davidson’s streak of seven straight games with at least 10 assists came to an end as it had nine, led by Barbara Sitton’s four … the ‘Cats fell to 19-25 vs. Western Carolina in the all-time series … Davidson shot just 20 percent in the second half and were just 31.7 percent for the game … the Wildcats are in the midst of playing four games in an eight-day stretch.

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