Davidson Prevails In OT at UNCG, Remains Unbeaten in SoCon

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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Senior Mandy Halbersleben (Cincinnati, Ohio) hit a free throw with five seconds left in regulation to force overtime and junior Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) scored five of the 'Cats eight points in the extra period as the Davidson women's basketball team escaped with a hard-fought 61-55 overtime win at UNC Greensboro on Monday afternoon in Southern Conference action.

With time running down, Halbersleben drove from the top of the free throw line into the lane and drew a shooting foul with 5.1 seconds left in the second half, and Davidson trailing 53-52. She calmly hit the first, before missing the second try, but time expired before UNCG could bring the ball up the floor.

At the start of overtime, Thompson drained a three-ball from the right wing that set the tone for the extra five minutes and then later iced the game with two free throws in the final seconds of the period, and the Wildcats outscored the Spartans 8-2 to take the five-point road win.

The Wildcats continued their school-best start in league play with a 6-0 mark and remained in first place. Overall they improved to 7-8. With the win, the 'Cats have now won four of the past five games in the series vs. the Spartans, who dropped to an even 3-3 in the SoCon and 6-9 overall.

The game had signs of going into overtime as neither team could hold a lead for long or get that decisive run to open things up. The second half alone showcased 12 ties and nine lead changes.

Mercedes Robinson (Baltimore, Md.) was the Wildcats' main weapon in the second half as she went off for a double-double in the period with 15 points and 12 rebounds as she countered every UNCG bucket. The junior post player, who for the first time in her career tallied a fourth straight double-double, closed the game with 17 points and a new personal-best 17 rebounds, surpassing her previous high of 15 set earlier this season.

Of her 17 rebounds, a career-high 15 of them were on the defensive end as she helped the 'Cats halt any second chance points by the Spartans. Davidson as a team held a 43-41 edge on the boards.

Robinson was joined in the double-figure column by Thompson and fellow junior Julia Paquette (Stockbridge, Ga.) with 10 and 12 points, respectively. Paquette had a steady first half that saw the junior drop in eight points and pull down seven of Davidson's 22 first-half rebounds. She also assisted the Wildcats in holding a 40-26 edge on points in the paint with all 12 of her points coming in the lane.

UNCG was led by Agne Girstautaite's 12 points as she was the lone Spartan to reach double digits.

Two Monica Laune (Ashland, Neb.) free throws at the 9:38 mark of the first half helped Davidson double up UNCG at 16-8 to start the game.

Later, back-to-back layups on two straight possessions by Paquette maintained the Wildcat lead at 22-16, before the Spartans made a late push in the last five minutes to knot things up at 25-all on a fast-break layup from Monica Floyd with 20.7 ticks left in the half.

But Robinson, held scoreless through the first 19 minutes of action, gave Davidson a two-point advantage (26-24) heading into halftime when she hit a turn-around layup with 8.7 seconds left on the clock.

The Wildcats return home for the start of a two-game stretch when they first play Georgia Southern on Sat., Jan. 10 at 2 p.m.

Game Notes: Davidson has out-rebounded the opposition 10 times this year ... With her double-double, Robinson now has eight on the season and 25 in her career ... The Wildcats' 15 steals matched their season-best this year ... Halbersleben dished out six of the 'Cats eight assists, setting a new personal-best ... Dating back to last season's final two regular-season league games, Davidson has won its past eight SoCon contests.

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