HENRICO, Va. -- The Davidson Wildcats weathered the storm of a game which saw six ties and six lead changes in defeating Saint Joseph's 64-59 in the 2026 Betterment Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship, advancing to the semifinals for a second consecutive season.
Davidson's scoring was led by Atlantic 10 All-Second Team performer Katie Donovan's 13 points. Her teammate and first team selection Charlise Dunn had 12 points. Davidson won the bench battle 28-5 as all 10 Wildcats who played scored.
"A total team win, everybody that went in the game scored and we needed all of them," Davidson coach Gayle Fulks opened. "St. Joe's is an excellent team; they play great defense. We knew it would be tough. I was just really proud of Charlise Dunn for taking the charge at the end, Katie Donovan stepping into those free throws in clutch time and Charlise finishing the game with those. To me, we found a way. We talk a lot about being 1-0, got to find a way for that game and today it took everybody."
Saint Joseph's was paced by All-Conference Third Teamer Aleah Snead's 23 points, one away from matching a season high. Not to be outdone, Faith Stinson's balanced game included 14 points and eight rebounds, while Rhian Stokes concluded play with 12 points.
"I'm very proud of the way we came back, we had a lot of comeback situations today, just did not have enough at the end," Saint Joseph's coach Cindy Griffin analyzed. "I am proud of our players for believing we could win today. I thought we had a great gameplan today and executed what we needed to execute. Davidson did an unbelievable job; they made those threes and that was I think the difference. That was tough to recover from. I am proud of the way we came out and fought back."
The Wildcats opening on an 8-2 run, scoring the game's first six points, all out of Emilie Bessell's hands.
A returning Kyra Bruyndoncx would further contribute to this rush and then Davidson's bench provided a further spark as Angeliki Ziaka would total six points during the effort.
Davidson would take a 10-point advantage early on and shoot 46.2% from the field, while the Hawks would convert three field goals across the quarter, none of which were from three-point range.
All of this resulted in a 17-10 lead.
Davidson's defense dug in throughout the first half and nine Saint Joseph's turnovers turned into 14 points.
Saint Joseph's scored the second quarter's first five points to place its deficit back down to two points, all scored by Rhian Stokes.
Donovan tried to swing the pendulum back in Davidson's direction with a made three-point shot, but the Hawks would put another five points together, immediately tying the contest.
Davidson would mirror that response with a counter of its own. Gabby Casey would convert the final basket of the half, but it was not enough to deny the Wildcats a 33-30 advantage.
Though points were hard to come by in the third quarter, a pair of split free throws and a Snead layup briefly placed Saint Joseph's in front for the first time.
Each side continued to battle to find a way to break through, with Davidson going back up by five points.
It would not trail for the remainder of the third quarter, though after the Hawks rallied to tie the game, a pair of Donovan free throws would give the Wildcats a 46-44 lead entering the fourth quarter.
In the fourth period, freshman guard Emily Knouse made a three-point shot, to provide Saint Joseph's a narrow one-point lead.
Once again this would not last, with the Wildcats battling back behind a Donovan triple and Elena Alvarez Castellanos jump shot off a Hawks miscue.
This placed Davidson up by five points as Saint Joseph's opted to call a timeout.
With Dunn off the court, Stokes scored a basket, Snead grabbed a steal and score, and Stinson scored in transition after a defensive stand.
Now it was Davidson's turn to call a timeout down by a point.
Coming out of the timeout, the Wildcats committed a turnover which turned into two points for Stinson. Dunn then rolled in a three-point shot which tied the game.
From there Alvarez Castellanos buried a pair of free throws and during a crucial possession made a jumper following another timeout to beat the shot clock.
"Elena is an incredible competitor and I think she lives for those moments," stated Fulks. "She's played in a lot of really big-time games, being part of the Spanish national system, playing in some pro leagues. She's been in every role and I talked with her before the game and said, 'hey they're really going to try to limit Katie and Charlise. That's what's going to happen and you're going to have some space and there's going to be a moment where you step into that and make it.' For her to be ready to do that was huge for us."
Davidson committed a pair of fouls allowing Stokes to make her free throws as Saint Joseph's drew to within one.
The Hawks defense sent a delayed double team, and a jump ball gave Saint Joseph's the ball back. On the possession, a charging foul was called swinging the game back Davidson's way.
Donovan made a couple of free throws and when Saint Joseph's could not score, it put the game out of reach. A fact secured even further by Dunn sinking a pair of free throws.
The Hawks went the final 3:17 without making a shot from the field.
When the buzzer sounded, all of the Davidson roster ran towards Dunn in celebration.
"That just made me so happy, it was awesome," beamed Dunn. "I know I took that charge at the end, but it was such a team effort. Everyone stepped up in their own way, and it was pretty cool everyone ran over to me."
"Our senior really leads for us, and she shows it all the time in different ways whether it's the charge or the free throws," Donovan added. "We really just want to embrace her and show her how special she is for this season."
Davidson advances to play Rhode Island Saturday at 11 a.m. in the first of two semifinal contests.