The post Davidson WBB Weekly Recap: ‘Cats Catch Fire on Win Streak! first appeared on 'CATS STATS.
]]>Davidson 71, VCU 60
This was an extremely back-and-forth affair in the first half, with both teams shooting quite well from the floor. The ‘Cats and Rams exchanged the lead a total of 7 times before the intermission; however, Maddie Plank’s go-ahead three with 0:27 to play in Q2 would give Davidson the lead for good. Plank hit two threes in the midst of a 15-4 run that lasted from 1:30 in the 2Q to 5:59 in the 3Q. That run and a 22-13 advantage in the 3rd frame would prove to be decisive, though VCU managed to trim the deficit to two possessions in the 4th, sparked by Sarah Te-Biasu’s 30-point outing.
Stats of Note
Each of Davidson’s starters scored at least 8 points in this one. Issy Morgan led the way with 18, her high for the season up to that point (it wouldn’t stay that way for long!). It was the 4th double-double of the season for Elle Sutphin, who contributed 16 and 10 plus a strong defensive showing with 3 steals and 2 blocks. Adelaide Fuller also recorded her season high with 9 points on a perfect 4/4 shooting line. 7 of Rosie Deegan’s 13 came in Q3, helping spark Davidson’s winning edge much like Maddie Plank’s aforementioned triples. Overall, it was a dominant offensive performance on the road. While the long ball proved big for Davidson, this game was won in the post: the ‘Cats held a decisive 40-26 edge on points in the paint. This was the 6th time this season Davidson shot better than 50% from the floor, shooting at a 54.9% clip. They also clamped VCU’s offense during their big 2nd and 3rd quarters, holding the Rams to 30.8% shooting in those two frames.
Davidson 66, Duquesne 65
In a crucial game for A10 positioning, this one was every bit as thrilling as the final score indicates, and then some! It was a similar story to VCU early on, as the ‘Cats built a large advantage around halftime sparked by some exceptional shooting. Issy Morgan was once again phenomenal; she hit 4 threes en route to 16 points in the first half, enough to tie her career high in triples. The lead got as large as 11, bolstered by another run centered around halftime: the ‘Cats outscored the Dukes 13-4 over 5 minutes of play to stretch the advantage to 44-33. However, Duquesne trimmed the deficit to 4 as Q3 came to its conclusion. Their comeback would continue until they finally recaptured the lead, setting up an electric finish. With the game knotted at 56, the Dukes’ Tess Myers hit a go-ahead three, only to be immediately answered by a Maddie Plank triple. But the two weren’t done with the fireworks. Myers hit another three, only to be answered by a Plank layup and ANOTHER clutch Plank three on Davidson’s ensuing possession, putting Davidson up 64-62 with 0:16 to play. With the game on the line for the Dukes, Myers put up another shot from the wing, nailed her third triple in a row, and got a foul call! Fortunately for the ‘Cats, she missed her four-point play opportunity, leaving it 65-64 Dukes, giving Davidson a chance to steal the win. Elle Sutphin got the ball in the post, made a strong move to the rim, and was rewarded with a trip to the free throw line. She sank both, leaving Duquesne with only two seconds to muster a shot. Forcing a well-defended Ayanna Townsend to miss at the buzzer, Davidson stunned the Dukes 66-65!
Stats of Note
This was the sternest defensive test of Davidson’s road trip, and they handled it brilliantly, continuing their offensive success from the previous two games. Despite Duquesne only allowing their opponents to shoot at a 40.9 eFG% on the season entering the game, the ‘Cats hit 11 threes at a 40.7% clip. That was good for a 48.2 eFG%, well above the Dukes’ average allowed. Issy Morgan was your Cats Stats Player of the Game, and for good reason: she set a new career high with her 20 point outing! However, Davidson’s couldn’t have done it without Maddie Plank’s clutch play. Her 8 points in the closing minutes kept Davidson alive. She scored 15 in total and hit 3 threes of her own. Elle Sutphin was, of course, instrumental as well, scoring 13 and connecting on the 2 go-ahead free throws. Rosie Deegan also broke into double figures at 10, and Mallorie Haines continued her hot shooting, hitting a three for the 4th consecutive game.
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]]>The ‘Cats dominated from start to finish against the Governors. Maddie Plank made her first career start in a Davidson uniform; it seems she replaced Chloe Welch, who did not play in this contest. And Sallie Schutz got her second consecutive start after Adelaide Fuller was out for the second consecutive game. Despite the missing players, the ‘Cats looked unphased. The ‘Cats got a 3-2 lead just over a minute into the first quarter and never looked back. Davidson did a great job preventing Austin Peay from getting baskets. Their previous low for points allowed in a quarter was 8. And in the first three quarters they allowed 6, 8, and 5 points, respectively. Austin Peay only made one three and two free throws for the entire third quarter. With a 28-point lead going into the fourth quarter, the ‘Cats cruised to victory.
This game was extremely back and forth, with 16 lead changes. The game was tied at 28 at the half. UIC built a 6-point lead going into the fourth, but Davidson went on an 8-0 run to retake the lead, where Elle Sutphin scored 6 of the 8 points. After the run, the score sat at 51-49, but UIC answered with a 3. And each of the next four made buckets in the game caused lead changes. Unfortunately, Maddie Plank’s jumper with 4:23 left would be last time Davidson scored in the game. UIC finished on a 9-0 to walk away victorious.
Davidson fell in another close game, this time to the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. Head coach Gayle Coats Fulks was unable to lead her team to victory over the Knights, the team she played for from 2003-2007. Chloe Welch and Adelaide Fuller still did not suit up for this one, and they were now joined by Issy Morgan, meaning three of the five opening-day starters were inactive. But Davidson got out to a solid lead; they were up 13-5 with just over three minutes left in the first quarter. However, the ‘Cats couldn’t score for the rest of quarter. The Knights went on a quick 12-0 run, scoring 12 points in 6 posessions. The Knights now had the lead, and though the ‘Cats would take 1-point leads twice later in the game, they were never able to build anything substantial. They stayed in it the whole way, trailing by just 1 with 3 minutes left in the game. But unfortunately they couldn’t get the win. Coach Fulks graciously congratulated her former team in the FDU locker room after the game.
Surely after losing two close games the ‘Cats would be able to take a close game of their own, right? Unfortunately, that was not the story, and the way Davidson would lose could not have been more dramatic. Davidson had a 25-16 lead after the first, but App State quickly got the lead early into the second. The Mountaineers stretched their lead to 10 in a dominant second quarter. The ‘Cats were slowly able to chip away at their lead, however, and only trailed by 4 going into the final quarter of play. Every time Davidson would pull closer to retaking the lead in this quarter, App State would sucessfully hold them off. Elle Sutphin got the ‘Cats back within 1 with a minute and a half left. App State was up 82-81; it was now or never for Davidson to take the lead. But Davidson couldn’t score on their next few possesions. App State led 84-81 after a couple trips to the free throw line, and Davidson had 4 seconds to tie the game.
Rosie Deegan got the ball after the inbound. She put up a three. It missed, but Tomisin Adenupe got a strong offensive rebound. Adenupe hoisted it back up from the paint. The ball bounced up off the rim and went in! And the ref signaled to count the basket and send Adenupe to the free-throw line for an and-1! Adenupe, who was 13-25 from the line on her career at the time, had the chance to tie the game and send it to overtime. The refs went to the monintor, and the commentators were under the impression that they were checking to see if Adenupe got the ball off in time. The ball was very close to her fingertips when the buzzer sounded. The refs erased the basket, but not because she didn’t get it off in time. They said she was bumped on the floor when getting the rebound. So instead of shooting one basket to tie the game, she had two free-throw attempts that would only be able to get the ‘Cats within 1. She made the first and missed the second, likely on purpose. But the ‘Cats couldn’t get the rebound and came up short of victory again.
Davidson being out so many players is clearly a major storyline in their early season. Cameron Tabor hasn’t played since she appeared to get hurt during the season opener against High Point. Adelaide Fuller has been out since Davidson’s home opener against Duke. Chloe Welch has missed four consecutive games. And Issy Morgan has missed two consecutive games. Not to mention, Peyton Carter, who played just over 3 minutes per game in her junior season, is out this year. Given that Davidson star Rosie Deegan missed time in each of the last two seasons, it seems Davidson has not been able to catch a break for really three seasons in a row now. And given how much young talent Davidson had on their bench going into this season, it’s unfortunate that they haven’t been able to take advantage of it. On the flipside, this has provided these young players oppurtunities they would not have had otherwise. Sophomores Tominsin Adenupe, Sallie Schutz (redshirt), and Maddie Plank (redshirt) have each found time in the starting lineup. Mallorie Haines, also a sophomore, has seen significant minutes off the bench. These minutes could prove to be very valuable. And regardless of what has happened up to this point this season, one thing is for certain: Davidson is 0-0 in conference play. The ‘Cats have plenty of time to get things together come conference season.
And there were still some bright spots in this week’s games. The Wildcat’s defense was stout against Austin Peay. In addition to allowing 19 points in the first three quarters, they held Austin Peay to a 28.1% effective field goal percentage. This is the best they’ve held an opponent to this season, with their second best being the 43.2% they held Fairleigh Dickinson to on Wednesday. The ‘Cats clearly can compete even without some key players; it just seemed they lost some steam near the end of their losses this week. Given that they played three games in three days and another game later in the week, this seems understandable. One other bright spot is that Davidson signed Chloe Oliver, a 5-8 guard out of Quebec earlier this week!
The ‘Cats play two games this week. On Wednesday, they play Wofford at 11 AM, and on Sunday they play Jacksonville State at 3 PM. Both games will be aired on ESPN+. We will see if any players who were out can return to action.
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]]>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 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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