College of Charleston
Davidson
College of Charleston finishes regular season with 54-53 comeback win over Davidson
2/23/2009 5:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Boxscore - Davidson vs. College of Charleston
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Senior forward Nikki Williams (North, S.C.) hit one of two free throws with 0.4 remaining as College of Charleston (21-7, 14-6) came from 12 points down to defeat Davidson (11-17, 10-9) 54-53 Monday evening in a Southern Conference women's basketball game at the Carolina First Arena. The victory clinches the third seed in the Southern Conference Tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Trailing 47-37 with 11:10 to play, the Cougars defense stepped up and held the Wildcats scoreless over the next 6:42 and clawed even at 47-47 with 4:28 remaining in regulation. Following an exchange of baskets to make it 49-49 with 3:20 to play, sophomore guard Tonia Gerty (Port Orange, Fla.) drilled a three-pointer at the 2:06 mark to put Charleston ahead 52-49 for their first lead of the game.
A jumper by senior guard Mandy Halbersleben closed the gap to 52-51 before junior forward Brooke Kotcella (Anderson, S.C.) added a free throw with 53 seconds to play to make it 53-51. Junior guard Monica Luane then pulled Davidson even with a pair of free throws with 28 seconds to go.
Holding the ball for a final shot at the other end, Charleston missed a jumper with four seconds remaining but Nikki Williams grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled going back up with 0.4 seconds on the clock. After a Wildcat timeout, Williams calmly sank the first free throw before missing the second completely. The Cougars then survived a full court pass by Davidson to claim the 54-53 victory.
It was a far different story in the first half as Davidson worked their way out to a 20-12 lead with 7:27 to play. They would extend that lead to 26-16 three and a half minutes later before taking a 34-26 lead into the break. At the start of the second half, Charleston narrowed the margin to 38-32 before a 6-0 Wildcat run pushed the lead back to double-digits at 44-32 at the 13:12 mark. Charleston would narrow the gap to 47-37 before launching their defensive stand and setting the stage for a second half comeback.
“I think it a tremendous win for us” said Cougars head coach Nancy Wilson. “Davidson played with a real purpose tonight and came out strong in the first half. We were trying hard on our end but our shots just weren't falling”.
Junior guard Alexandra Thompson led Davidson with 16 points, all in the first half, and added seven rebounds while senior forward Mercedes Robinson chipped in with seven points and a game-high eight rebounds. Luane had a solid all-around game with six points, five assists and three rebounds and sophomore guard Ashley Lax finished with eight points.
For Charleston, junior guard Jade Hughes (Spartanburg, S.C.) led the team with 14 points while junior center Deidra Jones (Irmo, S.C.) contributed 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Tonia Gerty scored 10 points on the night, eight in the second half, and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:06 to play. Junior guard Ericka Williams (Blackville, S.C.) finished with seven points and five rebounds while Nikki Williams capped off her night with five points, five rebounds and a game-high three steals.
“Our defense was tremendous tonight and we had a number of people knock in bunch of shots for us” added Wilson. “Nikki Williams rebound was huge for us and Jade Hughes just stayed with their leading scorer (Thompson) and shut her down. She did an excellent job”.
The victory marks only the second win in the last 14 meetings dating back to January 27, 2003 and is the first time the Cougars have swept a season series from Davidson.
The College of Charleston will begin its pursuit of a Southern Conference title when the Cougars head to Chattanooga, Tennessee for the 2009 Southern Conference Tournament. They will enter the tournament as either the third or fourth seed depending upon the outcome of Western Carolina's game with Wofford on February 28. The Catamounts are currently 17-11 and 13-6 in conference with a win over Samford this evening.
Charleston enters the tournament with a 21-7 overall record and 14-6 mark in conference play and split the season series with WCU this year. The tournament will run from March 5-9 with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
NOTES
The 21 victories this season is a Division I record for the team and is the most since the 1988-89 team went 28-4 ... it is the 13th 20-win season in program history overall.
