DAVIDSON — Davidson made a strong statement when it comes to winning the Southern Conference women's regular-season championship by beating Appalachian State 61-54 at Belk Arena in front of 1,271 fans Saturday.

Davidson (19-7, 15-2 SoCon) pulled into a first-place tie with the Mountaineers (21-4, 15-2). Appalachian State has three games left, beginning with Furman at home on Monday.

The Mountaineers follow with road games at Samford on Feb. 25 and at Chattanooga on Feb. 27. Davidson, which is Appalachian State's travel partner, hosts Wofford on Monday. The Wildcats play at Chattanooga on Feb. 25 and at Samford on Feb. 27.

Should the teams tie, Davidson would be the No. 1 seed going into the SoCon tournament because of its season-sweep of Appalachian State.

Davidson was able to pull away from the Mountaineers with a quick 5-0 burst late in the game. Appalachian State was tied 48-48 with the Wildcats following two foul shots by Maryah Sydnor, but Davidson went on its run capped by a 3-point basket by Katrin Chiemeka, which gave the Wildcats a 53-48 lead they would not lose.

Chiemeka led all scorers with 19 points. Sydnor countered with 17 points and Courtney Freeman added 13 points.

Appalachian State struggled with its shooting by making just 32.9 percent of its shots. Anna Freeman, the SoCon's leading scorer, made just 3-of-15 from the field and missed all six of her 3-point attempts to finish with just eight points.

Davidson, after taking a 26-17 halftime lead, hit 50 percent of its shots in the second half. The Wildcats turned the ball over 15 times, but gave up just 15 points off turnovers.

Davidson also converted 17-of-26 foul shots compared to just 6-of-8 for the Mountaineers. Appalachian State was whistled for 19 fouls compared to just eight for the Wildcats.

 

 

Davidson 61, Appalachian State 54

Appalachian State (21-4, 15-2)

Sharkey 0-2 0-0 0, Sydnor 7-17 3-4 17, C. Freeman 6-12 1-1 13, Weldon 3-7 0-0 6, A. Freeman 3-15 2-3 8, Edwards 0-5 0-0 0, Taylor 0-1 0-0 0, Gary 4-7 0-0 10, Mallow 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 23-70 6-8 54.

Davidson (19-7, 15-2)

Aleksandravicius 4-12 2-3 10, Johnsen 1-3 0-0 2, Murray 1-2 3-4 6, Chiemeka 7-10 2-4 19, Sitton 2-7 2-6 6, Davis 1-1 0-0 2, Calin 2-2 1-1 5, Ottaway 2-7 7-8 11. Center 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 61.

Halftime score—Davidson 26, ASU 17. 3-point goals—ASU 2-15 (Gary 2-4, Sydnor 0-5, A. Freeman 0-6), Davidson 4-10 (Chiemeka 3-6, Muray 1-2, Aleksandravicius 0-1, Ottaway 0-1). Rebounds—ASU 42 (Sydnor 11), Davidson 35 (Aleksandravicius 9). Assists—ASU 12 (C. Freeman 3), Davidson 11 (Sitton 5). Total fouls—ASU 19, Davidson 8. Fouled out—ASU, Sydnor. Technical fouls—None. Att.—1,271.