The post Davidson WBB Weekly Recap: Maryland Comes Out On Top first appeared on 'CATS STATS.
]]>Maryland did not trail for a single second of this contest. The ‘Cats battled in the first quarter. Maryland got out to a quick 5-0 lead, but the ‘Cats would respond with an Elle Sutphin layup and a Sallie Shutz three off a Maryland turnover. This was Schutz’s first career start and her first shot as a starter. Davidson would tie the game again later in the quarter at 10, but Maryland would lead for the rest of the way.
Sutphin and Mallorie Haines co-led the team with 12 points each. Sutphin also had a team-leading 8 boards, and Issy Morgan had a team-leading 6 assists. The ‘Cats shot 38.2% from the field, 30.8% from deep, and 33.3% from the free-throw line.
One not-so-bright spot in this game was the number of turnovers for Davidson. They had 30 turnovers in this game. This is the most they’ve committed since their first season in the A10 in a game against Richmond on 1/21/15, meaning this is the most in the Gayle-Coats-Fulks era. Issy Morgan had a particularly uncharcteristic day, contributing a team-high 9 turnovers, 3 more than her previous high. Perhaps some of these turnovers can be attributed to Maryland’s ferocious defense, as the Terps had 18 steals, though the Terp’s previous high this season was 9 steals.
There was a bright spot though! This game saw the emergence of Mallorie Haines as a key player in the Davidson offense. Haines was the 96th nationally ranked recruit in the class of 2026, but she didn’t play in every game for the ‘Cats last season and only averaged 5 minutes when she did. Today she scored 12 points, twice more than she ever scored last season. And she played 28 minutes, more than twice more than she ever played last season. She led the team in three pointers, going 3-6 from beyond the arc.
Davidson will be in Savannah, Georgia this week for three games in three days in the Hostilo Hoops Communtiy Classic. Their games are Monday 11/21 – Wednesday 11/23. They already took down Austin Peay 62-41 in their first game. We’ll cover this game and the other two in next week’s edition. Their second opponent is UIC, who they play Tuesday at 2 PM. And their third opponent is Fairleigh Dickinson, who they play Wednesday at 11:30 AM. Of note, head coach Gayle Coats Fulks played four seasons of college basketball for the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights from 2003-2007.
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]]>The post Davidson WBB Weekly Recap: ‘Cats Go 1-1 Against In-State Foes first appeared on 'CATS STATS.
]]>The Wildcats also have a strong, experienced starting five. Currently, the starting five consists of Chloe Welch, Rosie Deegan, Elle Sutphin, Issy Morgan, and Adelaide Fuller. Davidson fans should be glad to see both Welch and Deegan in the starting lineup. Welch is returning for her fifth season, and Deegan saw limited action last season due to injury. Both Welch and Deegan averaged over 10 points per game last season as well as Elle Sutphin, who led the team with 13.4 PPG. Issy Morgan is also a starter for the ‘Cats after she earned a spot on the A10 All-Rookie Team last season. Adelaide Fuller, a senior, rounds out the starting five and looks to see an increased role after averaging 17.8 minutes per game in her junior season. The ‘Cats also have a deep bench filled with both newcomers and returning players. Perhaps the most notable newcomer is Maddie Plank, a redshirt sophmore guard who transfered from Princeton.
It was time to finally put this roster to the test.
Davidson struggled in the opening quarter of this game. High Point led 18-14 after the first quarter and had a lead as large as 9. Davidson players also turned the ball over 8 times in this quarter. But the ‘Cats would quickly turn things around. Adelaide Fuller made a layup under a minute into the second quarter that tied the game at 18. And Davidson would not look back. After a dominant third quarter where they outscored High Point 29-15, they led by 19 points going into the fourth quarter, a difference that High Point couldn’t claw back. Of note, midway through the game, Cameron Tabor had an awkard fall and would not return to the game. Tabor, a senior, averaged over 20 minutes per game last season.
Rosie Deegan led Davidson in scoring with 16 points on 7-9 shooting. Chloe Welch led the team with 9 rebounds and scored 13 points. Welch also had 3 assists and 0 turnovers through a team-high 34 minutes. Issy Morgan had a team-high 5 assists. Maddie Plank played 20 minutes and had 9 points off 3-4 shooting in her first game as a Wildcat. As a team, Davidson shot 54.5% from the field, 31.3% from three, and 48% from the line.
The ‘Cats were unfortunately not able to avenge their 30-point loss to Duke 3 seasons ago. But despite the final score, the ‘Cats battled in this one. Davidson earned the lead just under 3 minutes into the game when a three by Issy Morgan put the ‘Cats up 3-2. Unfortunatley, however, they would not have the lead again. The game was tied at 19 just before halftime, but Duke led 26-19 when the half concluded. At the start of the third, Rosie Deegan appeared to give the ‘Cats some momentum by making threes on consecutive possesions to put the ‘Cats within 5. But Davidson would not score for the rest of the quarter, and Duke’s 15-0 run that followed Deegan’s threes was enough to put the ‘Cats away. Cameron Tabor, who appeared to get hurt in the previous game against High Point, did not play in this competition, nor did Tominsin Adenupe after she played 16 minutes against High Point.
Welch had had balanced stat line with a team-high 12 points, 7 rebounds, and a team-high 4 assists. Deegan nearly had a double-double, recording 9 points and 10 rebounds. The team shot 23.3% from the field, 25.8% from deep, and were 50% from the line on two attempts.
An interesting trend of these first two games is that the ‘Cats leading scorers scored in spurts. This was especially apparent in the Duke game. Welch, Deegan, and Sutphin were the ‘Cats three leading scorers. 9 of Welch’s 12 points came in a 6-minute stretch in the fourth quarter. All 9 of Deegan’s points came in a 7-minute stretch across the second and third quarters. And all 9 of Sutphin’s points came in a 10-minute stretch across the first and second quarters.
This trend was less apparent in the High Point game but still happened to an extent. The three leading scorers in this game were the same as in the Duke game. 12 of Deegan’s 16 came in the first half, 10 of Welch’s 13 came in the second half, and 11 of Sutphin’s 13 came in the second half. Of course, it should be noted this is a very small sample size of 2 games, one of which was pretty low-scoring by Davidson’s standards. And the reason for this trend could simply be attributed to the nature of momentum in college basketball or the changing defensive strategies employed by Davidson’s opponents throughout the games. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see if the trend continues going into this week.
Davidson has just one game this week. They will face off against #19 Maryland in College Park on Wednesday at 11:00 AM. Davidson last and only game against Maryland happened during the 2020-2021 season, a 94-72 loss for the ‘Cats. Davidson’s A10 rival Fordham trailed Maryland by 1 at the half this past Sunday and ultimately lost 83-76.
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