Box Score
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DAVIDSON, NC--Senior Dequesha McClanahan and freshman Erica Williams combined for 55 points to lead the Winthrop women's basketball team to a 91-76 win over Davidson on Friday night in Belk Arena.

McClanahan scored 29, including 17 in the first half, and Williams finished with 26 as the Eagles opened the season with two straight wins for the first time since the 2007-08 season. The loss was the first of the season for Davidson which opened with a 20-point road win over Clemson and another road win over Mount St. Mary's.

"This was a tremendous team victory for us," said Winthrop head coach Kevin Cook. "Dequesha was just masterful and it was a sterling performance for Erica who played with great calm and poise."

Winthrop has now defeated Davidson five times in 15 meetings, but this was the first win for the Eagles at Davidson since 1977. The Eagles did it with a hot shooting night as they finished the game at 53 percent (35 of 66) after connecting on 63 percent in the first half (22-35).

In addition to the point production from McClanahan and Williams, Winthrop got double figure scoring from sophomore Schaquilla Nunn who finished with 11 points and 10 from junior Samiya Wright. Nunn also led Winthrop on the boards with a game-high 13 rebounds to give the 6-3 post player her second straight double-double and the 16th of her career.

With the game tied at 12-12 following the first media timeout, Nunn put Winthrop ahead to stay when she scored on a a follow shot with just over 15 minutes left in the first half. That basket propelled Winthrop on a 10-0 run in less than two minutes. The Eagles led 22-12 with 13:28 remaining when Williams made a steal and then scored. Laura Murray, who finished with 16 points for Davidson, ended the run with a jumper, but Winthrop answered quickly as it went on a 11-4 run capped off by a 3-pointer by Zoe Vernon that gave Winthrop a 33-18 advantage with just under nine minutes left in the period.

A bucket by Dakota Dukes, who led Davidson with 22 points, got the Wildcats to within 10 points at 41-31 with four minutes on the clock, but the Eagles closed out the half with a 11-5 run to take a comfortable 52-38 lead at intermission.

Winthrop started quickly in the second half as Nunn scored on a hook and Williams worked inside for a spin move and a basket to give the Eagles a 17 point lead, their biggest of the game, at 56-39 less than two minutes into the final period. Davidson then made its only strong run of the night as the Wildcats outscored Winthrop 21-10 over an eight-minute stretch to cut the Eagles' lead to 66-60. Hannah Early led the Davidson charge with eight of her 19 points during that stretch.

Williams and McClanahan then gave Winthrop some breathing room. Williams scored on an up-and-under move and two free throws, while McClanahan knocked down an elbow jumper to put Winthrop back up 70-60 with 4:14 left . Dukes pulled Davidson to within seven with 5:50 to play with a 15-foot jumper to make the score 73-66, but McClanahan answered with a 15-footer of her own and Nunn followed her own miss with 4:14 to give Winthrop a double-digit lead again at 77-66. Shreeka Center pulled Davidson back to a single-digit deficit on back-to-back buckets inside to make it a 79-70 game with just over three minutes left, but it was too little, too late as the Wildcats were forced to foul. Winthrop connected on 8 of 14 free throws in the final 2:49 which were sandwiched around a dipsy-do layup by senior guard Tiffany Charles and a layup by Williams.

"I thought we played with great poise under pressure tonight against a very good Davidson team," said Cook. "They run a triangular offense that we don't see very much, but I thought we defended it very well."

The Winthrop coach also gave credit following the game to the athletic administration for allowing him to take his team to Davidson on Thursday for shooting practice. "To be able to shoot on this court with a different ball from another conference made all the difference in the world," he said.

While it was a good win for his team, Cook now must get his team prepared for the short turnaround and Monday night's home game against Saint Louis in the Winthrop Coliseum. Game time is 7:00 p.m.