Saturday, March 7
Chattanooga, Tenn.
9:00 a.m.
Davidson College Athletics
54
vs
65
vs. #4 College of Charleston (quartfinal Rd.)
Alex Thompson finished off her junior season with a 21-point effort in the quarterfinals of the SoCon Tournament.
Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com
Wildcats Season Comes to an End, Drops 65-54 Decision at SoCon Tournament
3/7/2009 1:50:39 PM | Women's Basketball
Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID
DAVIDSON, N.C. — The Davidson women's basketball team saw its 2008-09 campaign come to an end after they battled fourth-seeded College of Charleston to the end, coming up short in a 65-54 defeat on Saturday morning in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament at McKenzie Arena.
College of Charleston moves on to play No. 1 seed Chattanooga in the semifinals on Sunday as it improved to 22-7 on the season. Davidson closed out the year at 12-18 overall.
The Wildcats' Alex Thompson led all scorers with 21 points, her fifth career 20-point contest and fourth of the season. She finished 7-of-14 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, and hit all five of her free throws. Senior Mercedes Robinson followed with 19 points and seven boards in her final game as a Wildcat.
Deidra Jones and Brooke Kotcella led four Cougars in double digits with 15 points apiece. Jones had a double-double, tallying 17 rebounds, 10 of them on offense, while Kotcella scored 12 of her 15 from behind the arc.
Kotcella's last two three-pointers were the most lethal and broke Davidson's momentum after the Wildcats had trimmed a nine-point deficit (43-34) to just two, 51-49, after two Robinson free throws and 7:43 to go on the clock. Kotcella struck two long range shots on back-to-back possessions to push the Cougar lead back out to eight at 57-49.
The Wildcats rode the strong play of Robinson and Thompson during the rally to cut the Cougar lead down to two as the duo combined for all 15 points in a five-minute stretch, including nine points by Thompson in a two-and-half minute run that brought the 'Cats to within one at 46-45.
Davidson then went cold after falling behind 57-49, scoring just five more points in the final 6:34 of the contest. The Wildcats were held to 30 percent shooting, including just 23.1 percent from behind the arc (3-of-13).
College of Charleston did not fare much better from the field, hitting at a 38.9 percent clip, but were able to make a few clutch shots when needed to pick up the 11-point win and move on in the tournament.
The first half saw both teams battled it out to the tune of 12 lead changes, before the Cougars broke free on a three-ball from Kotcella at the 4:55 mark (22-20) and rode an 11-6 run to close out the half with a 33-26 halftime lead.
Also playing in her final game in a Davidson uniform was senior Mandy Halbersleben, who ended her career with three points, four rebounds and three assists.
Robinson closed out her Wildcat career ranked seventh all-time in scoring at 1,115 points and third in rebounding at 769. She also ranked in the Davidson record books top-15 in field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, field goal percentage and steals.
The senior also set the single-season school record with her 288 rebounds this year, while also etching her name atop the charts in made free throws with 111.
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