Box Score
Photo Gallery
WinthropPhotos.com
ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop opened the second half with a 23-9 run against Davidson and went on to claim a 75-60 win Saturday night to give Eagles head coach
Kevin Cook his 50
th win at the school.
Behind a career-high 23 points by
Aliyah Kilpatrick and
Schaquilla Nunn's fourth double-double of the season, Winthrop overcame a five-point halftime deficit to improve its record to 5-3 while Davidson drops to 3-6. Winthrop has now won three of its last four games against Davidson which still leads the series 10-6.
The Eagles trailed 27-22 at halftime after a lackluster shooting performance, but Winthrop came out hot in the second half by connecting on five of its first seven shots to jump out to a 35-30 lead after four minutes. Five different players scored during that run. A layup by freshman
Ezinne Mbamalu gave the Eagles a 32-30 lead with 16:33 remaining and the Eagles never trailed or were tied thereafter.
The lead ballooned to 12 points when
CiiCii Buford converted a pair of free throws and then followed with a three-point play to make the score 48-36 with 10:10 left. The closest Davidson came in the final 10 minutes was seven points after Lillian McCabe's layup made it a a 50-43 game with 7:45 left to play. Buford, who finished with a career-high 11 points in the second half, got the Eagles going again by converting two free throws and hitting a baseline jumper to again put Winthrop up by double-digits at 54-43.
"Cii Cii had one of her best practices on Friday, and when she got the opportunity tonight she answered the call," said Cook. "This was a true team victory. We had a lot of people contribute."
For the night, Winthrop shot 41.5 percent on 27 of 65 field goals after shooting just 30 percent in the first half. The Eagles connected on 53 percent in the second half, thanks to their quick start. One of the big stat lines was in the rebounding department where Winthrop held a commanding 57-38 advantage. Nunn, who finished with 15 points, grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the way while
Zoe Vernon and Mbamalu each finished with eight boards, both career highs. Vernon also scored 10 points.
Davidson had four players in double figures led by Hannah Early with 13. McCabe and Dakota Dukes scored 11 each, while McKenzie Latt recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Winthrop led just once in the first half as it took a 2-0 lead 27 seconds into the game when Kilpatrick stole the ball and drove the length of the court for a layup. Davidson took the lead on a 3-pointer by McCable and led by as many as seven points twice. Three straight baskets by Early, including a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched around a 16-foot jumper gave the Wildcats a 16-9 lead at the 11:38 mark. They led 18-11 after the Eagles'
Nuba Jackson connected on a jumper followed by a basket by Davidson's Kayla Seymour.
The Eagles went on a 9-2 run over the next three-plus minutes to tie the game at 20-20 with 5:12 left in the period, but Davidson answered with a 7-2 run of its own to close the half with a 27-22 lead.
Both teams had difficulties putting the ball in the basket in the first half. Winthrop was 10 of 33 from the floor (30.3 pct.) while Davidson was worse at 11 of 38 (28.9 pct.), but the five of the Wildcats' field goals came from behind the arc where Davidson was 5 for 17.
The Eagles will be in action again next weekend when they travel to the Wichita State Classic where they will meet George Mason on Dec. 19 and the host Shockers on Dec. 20.
