Welcome to the Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Tipoff for the 2019-20 Season. Today, we feature the Davidson Wildcats.
Davidson
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Coming off its most successful season since joining the Atlantic 10 in 2014, Davidson is very much in the hunt to reach unprecedented heights in 2019-20. The Wildcats were overachievers in every sense of the word a year ago. Picked 11th, they finished in a tie for fourth and won the program’s first game in the A-10 Championship with a first-round victory over St. Bonaventure.
The Wildcats' 17 wins were the most since the 2012-13 season, with 10 of those wins coming at home. They led the A-10 in scoring (66.0 points per game), turnover margin (+2.8) and offensive rebounds (13.9 per game). Davidson's invite to the Women’s Basketball Invitational was its fourth postseason appearance in program history.
So where do they go from here?
Up!
“Nobody on the roster when I got here had played a meaningful game in February,” said Coach Gayle Fulks, entering her third season. “This is the progression I was hoping for. We established a pretty good culture right away, got more skilled players and infused some pieces together that fit our style.”
Davidson returns four of five starters from a year ago led by Sarah Donovan, a 6-foot guard/forward, named Team MVP a year ago and honored as the Most Improved Player by the A-10 and a Second-Team All-Conference pick. Also in the mix: an even better Cassidy Gould, the team leaders in 3-pointers, who will fill part of the void left by the graduation of Justine Lyon.
Among the freshmen, expect Australian Adelaide Fuller to contribute.
“She’s the biggest kid on our roster, ”Fulks said. “At 6-3, she can shoot the 3 at a high clip. She should be able to do some nice things for us.”
The nonconference schedule includes Virginia Tech, Duke and Florida, a slate put together, Fulks said, “to prepare us for league games. We’re playing teams that are used to winning. I want to give our kids more of those situations.”
Learning how to win in pressure situations is the next step for Davidson. After last season, look out for the Wildcats.
Coach: Gayle Fulks, 3rd season at Davidson; 29-33 at Davidson and overall
Last year: 17-15, 10-6 in the Atlantic 10 (lost to Marshall 67-64 in the WBI)
They’ll miss: Justine Lyon graduated as the A-10 Sixth Woman of the Year and with a spot on the conference’s Third Team. The senior had 21 double-figure scoring games last year and finished her career with 1,442 points. Sharp-shooting guard Kianna Speight also graduated. The team steals leader also made 71 3-pointers in 2018-19.
Impact returners: Donovan’s stellar season, which included earning A-10 Player of the Week honors for the first time in her career on Jan. 14, saw her set personal bests in every offensive and defensive category. Her 11 double-doubles led the team; the Canadian averaged 12.9 points per game and a conference-leading 9.2 rebound per game, starting all 32 contests.
Newbies of note: Fuller and fellow Australian Suzi-Rose Deegan each come in with considerable international experience that should lesson their transition to the college game.
Circle the date: An invite to the Preseason WNIT means the Wildcats have a date with postseason regular Drexel on Nov. 9. If Davidson secures that win in Philadelphia, they’ll face the winner of DePaul and Miami (Ohio) in the second round, Nov. 11.
Bottom line: Nobody will be sleeping on Davidson this year. They’ve improved every year under Fulks, a pattern that will no doubt continue with the 2019-20 season.