Davidson College Sports Information
Laura Murray and Kristen Johnsen each scored 12 points, and Davidson held Western Carolina to 30 percent shooting from the field in a 58-45 Southern Conference women’s basketball victory over Western Carolina Friday afternoon at Belk Arena.

Sophie Aleksandravicius tallied 10 points, 12 rebounds and tied her own school record with seven blocked shots for the Wildcats (10-6, 6-1 SoCon). Katrin Chiemeka and Shneeka Center each scored eight, and Center snagged five rebounds.

Kaila’Shea Menedez led Western Carolina (6-10, 1-6 SoCon) with 16 points, while Janaé McKinney and Shauna Terry each scored seven points.

Davidson improved to 7-0 at Belk Arena, setting the mark for the best start in school history at home.

The Wildcats held the Catamounts to 16-of-54 from the field for the game and 6-of-28 in the second half. Davidson shot just 31 percent for the game, but made 18-of-21 free throws. The Wildcats only committed nine turnovers, a season-low.

Davidson used a 12-4 run early in the second half to open a 44-31 lead and take control of the game. Chiemeka ignited the spurt with a pair of 3-pointers, and Johnsen scored four points.

Western Carolina cut the margin down to six points, but Davidson’s Barbara Sitton answered with consecutive layups, and Amanda Ottaway added two free throws to push the lead back to 12. The margin never dipped below double digits the rest of the game.

Davidson finished the first half with a 9-4 run to stretch a five-point lead into a 32-25 advantage at the break. Chiemeka, Ottaway and Aleksandravicius each hit a pair of free throws during the run.

APPALACHIAN SUNDAY

The Wildcats travel to Appalachian State for a 2 p.m. contest Sunday. ASU sits in first place in the league standings at 5-0.

Game Notes: The ‘Cats have won six of the last eight meetings against Western Carolina… Davidson has held nine opponents to below 36 percent shooting from the field, going 8-1 in those games… Davidson has won eight of its last 10 games overall… The longest home win streak is nine, set by the 1998-99 squad… Aleksandravicius’ double-double was her fifth of the year, and fourth in the last six games.

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