The win streak continues!!

#A10WBB | @[email protected] https://twitter.com/gorhodyrams/status/2022792006724903259

An #A10WBB matchup headlines another snowy 🌨️ day in D.C.

Catch @[email protected] vs. @[email protected] next on Monumental Sports Network 📺

Throughout a season, teams go through ups and downs; they experience highs and lows. For the Davidson women’s basketball team, their 2023-24 season featured historic highs and difficult lows. Their 12-1 start included two takedowns of power 5 programs, defeating Wake Forest at home and Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium, while their sole loss came in the final minute in Chapel Hill, NC at Carmichael Arena against North Carolina. 

It was a historic start to their season but even with lots to celebrate for the Davidson Wildcats, the program faced difficulties. Before the start of official practices in the fall, redshirt-junior Sallie Schutz and junior Tomisin Adenupe each suffered season ending injuries. The team evolved and plowed forward, finding ways to incorporate those two into their day-to-day even as they stood on the sideline unable to play. “Those two did such a tremendous job of really staying engaged and motivated… when we would divide the team up in practice, it was like Team Sallie vs. Team Tomisin” head coach Gayle Fulks remarks. 

In a more influential way than perhaps first understood, Adenupe and Schutz would continue to help lead their team from the sidelines. Fulks adds, “I think they [Adenupe and Schutz] just really reset the bar for what it looks like to be injured but also a contributing veteran to our program”. While these two early injuries would be a harbinger of things to come for the program, the post-injury leadership from Adenupe and Schutz would set the tone for the team’s character.

During the team’s historic hot start, injury struck on the public stage for the first time as in mid November, redshirt-senior Elle Sutphin suffered what initially appeared to be a long-term injury. Fortunately for Sutphin and the Wildcats, the injury was not as bad as initially feared but with Sutphin still out for a few weeks, Davidson was forced to adjust. 5th-year player Suzie-Rose “Rosie” Deegan stepped up large on the court by changing positions to fill Sutphin’s void and was a huge leader to the program in doing so. “She [Deegan] just has such a charisma to her, she exudes confidence constantly. And that to me really showed our younger players ‘hey this is what this needs to look like.’ Sometimes you’ve got to go do stuff you haven’t practiced a whole lot but you just have to step in and go do it. I think that really was a good example set for some of our younger players that then had to do the same thing as the season went along” says Fulks. With Deegan leading the way, Davidson continued strong through December and received reinforcement as Sutphin returned for the first game of the new year.

As Sutphin settled back in, disaster struck on Wednesday, January 10 in a game at George Mason. Freshman Sylvie Jackson and then Deegan both suffered injuries that would end up being season ending. In the blink of an eye, the Wildcats were without their leading scorer in Deegan and one of their key guards off the bench in Jackson for the rest of the season. However, following the lead set forth by Adenupe and Schutz, Jackson was able at times to mentally put aside her injury to help support her team, which impressed Fulks. “I think she did a good job of really staying positive with her other freshman teammates and encouraging them now that they were in a slightly bigger role, the role that she was stepping into too… a great presence, particularly for her younger teammates”. It takes heart to suffer a season-ending injury but still assist your teammates who are replacing you on the floor yet Jackson was of great help to the Wildcats even after her injury.

Davidson continued onwards with those younger players – Katie Donovan, Chloe Oliver and Eliza Buerk – taking on larger roles. They had prepared for any opportunity, remaining engaged even when they weren’t starting or getting solid minutes in November and December and their approach early in the season paid off. “Those guys just really bought in to doing the work throughout the year; days after games where maybe they didn’t play a whole lot, getting some extra work in trying to stay ready and because of that, they were more prepared than they would have been if they had just kind of checked out”, Fulks states. The three of them would go on to play in massive situations throughout the rest of the season.

Things changed again for the Wildcats prior to their game on January 24 against Massachusetts. Elle Sutphin was out with an injury again and Davidson was down to just eight healthy bodies. They persevered onwards through that game and three games later, Sutphin returned to action against Loyola Chicago. In total, Sutphin played the first six games of the year, missed the next six, played in the following six, and was out the next four, before the Loyola Chicago game was the first of her final three straight on the floor this season. Having such inconsistencies throughout the season is not an easy thing physically or mentally Fulks points out but Sutphin stayed strong. “For her, I think it was the mental toughness of ‘I didn’t get to do my routine for the last six weeks every single day. I’ve had to do less because I’m not able to right now, my body’s saying no’ ”. Fulks added that Sutphin would think along the lines of  “ ‘How can I go out there and perform when I haven’t necessarily done everything that I would’ve liked to have done to be prepared to go perform’ and for her, I think that she showed a lot of toughness in that Loyola Chicago game.” 

Davidson’s good fortune surrounding Sutphin’s return did not last long. Four minutes and sixteen seconds into the game against Loyola Chicago, sophomore Charlise Dunn went down with an injury and would also not return to action the rest of the season. At this point, the Wildcats had seen the seasons of Schutz, Adenupe, Jackson, Deegan, and now Dunn come to an abrupt end. This tally excluded the less major injuries that Sutphin had been dealing with as well.

It was enough to affect any team’s morale so the Davidson coaching staff changed things up the day following the Loyola Chicago game. The message to the team from Fulks and the staff was, “We’re playing George Mason on Wednesday, we’ve already played them before, let’s just go get ice cream… let’s just regroup a little bit”. 

A team ice cream outing certainly helps morale and Davidson received another boost when they added two players to their roster in the following days. KP Peterson and Mallory Justis “came highly recommended from our team so they obviously had good relationships with them [our players]” according to Fulks who promptly worked to get them added to the roster. While those two weren’t as experienced on the court, their fresh perspective as new collegiate athletes proved quite beneficial to the whole team. “It was just great to have two new people join things for a short period of time that just gave us a breath of fresh air; people that were excited to be doing college basketball. There was this infusement of excitement and through it all, another positive presence” comments Fulks. 

But what did not help the team’s morale was the loss of Issy Morgan in the final few minutes of the team’s next game, a rematch against George Mason. “When Issy went down… she was pretty much around the clock trying to figure out how to get back. It was a pretty significant injury and she came back in about half the amount of time that a lot of people would and it was because she really wanted to get back out there with people she really cared about… the toughness that she has, is very similar to what all of them had to do, just in different circumstances” said Fulks.

The junior point guard did not play in the following game on February 17 and due to the rash of injured players, Davidson canceled their two upcoming games. To this point, the team had spent a couple of months watching teammate after teammate get hurt. And while the program needed to get at least a little healthier to be able to keep their remaining healthy players safe, there was also the mental and emotional toll to show up every day even with so many injuries. “For us, every single injury in itself was just hard” comments Fulks.

The Wildcats would return to game action on February 28 for their Senior Night and their scheduled penultimate game of the regular season. Of Schutz, Deegan, Sutphin, and Maddie Plank, the four players honored during the pregame senior night festivities, only Plank was still healthy and she had been a huge contributor for the team throughout the season. Not only did she play in a variety of positions throughout the year as needed, it was Plank’s character that played an even larger role. Her leadership and her joy was palpable during every game and in a season as trying as this one, that type of person is vital. Fulks says, “Her presence was something that was undeniable very early on. Her smile, her joy, she just loves basketball”. 

Devastatingly, the injury bug struck once more as Plank would go down with a bad-looking knee injury late in the third quarter. To those watching the team throughout the season, it had never been clearer just how much the people in the program had been through this season. Immediately, Plank’s teammates put their hands on their head in stunned disbelief. Others covered their mouths in horror while more buried their faces in their fingers. A few, overcome with emotion, doubled over in tears.

Plank’s injury was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The Davidson program had bounced back from every prior injury throughout the season but at this point, it was all too much.

In the ensuing days, Davidson would announce the cancellation of their final regular season game as well as their conference tournament and a national postseason tournament to conclude their 2023-24 campaign with an overall record of 18-8 and a conference record of 8-7. With Plank’s season ending with an injury, Mallorie Haines and Millie Prior were the only two players to play in all 26 games and make it through without a bad injury. Dependability from players is always valuable but in a season as difficult as this one, the consistent effort and on-the-floor presence that Haines and Prior provided meant so much. “College basketball is hard. Some games you play well, some games you don’t play well and then add on the layers of ‘Hey, I have these other people that I feel really badly for that are injured or that can’t play with me’ and to bring your best every single day was something the two of them really did” Fulks says.

Not only did the players battle through these difficult tribulations, the coaching staff faced a whole different challenge than coaches typically face: How do you keep a team moving forward and staying positive while so many players are facing major injuries that impact not only basketball but their daily life as well? Oftentimes, coaches are expected to have all the answers but for Davidson’s coaching staff this season, it was hard to have the answers when you don’t even have the players to put forth a healthy team. Fulks’s mindset for her and her staff was that, “We needed to keep pouring into the individuals and… be there for them as best we can”. That they did and it contributed to the incredible perseverance that the players featured throughout the season. The character of the people in the program was showcased all season long throughout the tribulations. Fulks stated, “I think that was the key to this year’s team; they really did care about the “we”. There was nobody that was just “me” focused and they really wanted to do it for each other”.

Featured Image: Davidson Athletics

*Special thanks to Dajah Mincey, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications at Davidson College

Jacob Munch is an alum of the University of Massachusetts. The 2023-24 season marks his 2nd season at A10Talk, where he is a proud contributor for Women’s Basketball content. This season is Jacob’s first following Davidson Women’s Basketball and his fifth following UMass Women’s Basketball, two years of which he was a radio broadcaster for the UMass Women’s Basketball team. You can follow Jacob on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JacobMunch1.

https://www.a10talk.com/2024/04/heart-character-perseverance-the-story-of-the-2023-24-davidson-wildcats/

#A10WBB #DavidsonWildcats #featured

The most wonderful time of the year is back once again! After one of the strongest Atlantic 10 seasons in recent years, there is no shortage of A-10 teams still playing well into March! Despite only receiving one-bid to the NCAA Tournament, three teams got invites to the new second-tier NCAA-sponsored WBIT, and two additional teams accepted bids to the WNIT  (now the third-tier postseason tournament). Let’s take a look at the matchups in the week ahead!

NCAA Tournament

#10 Richmond vs #7 Duke, Friday March 22, 2:30PM (ESPNEWS)

This season for Richmond has been nothing short of electric. The Spiders won the Atlantic 10 regular season for the first time ever, won the A-10 tournament for the first time ever, and are heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.

Put on the dancing shoes! @SpiderWBBall is heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005! #A10WBB pic.twitter.com/8dGrCUkeCQ

— Daniel Frank (@n1a2v3y4) March 10, 2024

The Spiders face a familiar opponent in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament- the very same team that they began their season with. On November 6, the Spiders opened the 2024 campaign with a tough 83-53 loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium to Duke, in a game that pretty much everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong. The Spiders shot a season-low 35% from the field, had their second-worst three point shooting performance of the season at 29%, and shot a season-low 36% from the line. Richmond also had a season-low 26 rebounds in that game, and had their second-most turnovers in any game of the season at 23. Finally, the Spiders were held a season-low 52 total points while Duke had their third-best scoring output of the season at 82.

Overall, Duke had one of their best games of the season, post their third-best shooting percentage of the year at 54%, their third-best three point shooting performance at 44%, grabbed their second-most rebounds of year with 47. The point here is, the numbers from that game and the numbers that panned out over the next five months indicate strongly that that November afternoon is not at all likely to be an indication of how this matchup will go.

Comparing stats for the season as a whole, Richmond averages a 47% field goal percentage, 38% from three, 80% from the line, 34 rebounds per game, and 73 points per game. Duke on the other hand shoots 44% from the field, 32% from three, 76% from the line, 38 rebounds per game, and 69 points per game. The Spiders are all the much hotter team entering the NCAA Tournament, having won five straight games, and 12 of their last 13. Duke is coming of a loss to NC State in the ACC Quarterfinals, and having lost four of their last 10 games. This should be an excellent matchup, and will be appointment television on Friday afternoon! Don’t be surprised at all if these Spiders avenge their November loss and are dancing into the 2nd Round on Sunday.

If Richmond advances, the Spiders would face the winner of #2 Ohio State and #15 Maine.

WBIT

George Mason at #1 Penn State, Thursday March 21, 6:00PM (ESPN+)

This postseason birth for George Mason has been a long time coming. After consecutive last place finishes in the Atlantic 10 in 2021 and 2022, the Patriots have positioned themselves as one of the front runner teams in the A-10 for potentially years to come. I wrote earlier this season about the magical ride the Patriots have been on this year, and how they have broken records seemingly every single night. The Patriots are one win away from tying the program record for wins in a season at 24, they set the record for most conference wins in a season (14), fewest loses in conference play (4), not to mention this season is just the sixth ever 20-win season in the 50 year history of George Mason Women’s Basketball. A win over Penn State would be just the second ever postseason victory in program history, the only other one coming back in the 2018 WNIT over Stephen F. Austin.

OUR MOMENT 💛💚#BelieveBIG | #Ubuntu pic.twitter.com/YowOLwjDtc

— George Mason Women’s Basketball (@MasonWBB) March 18, 2024

Penn State, like George Mason, last appeared in the postseason in 2018. The last meeting between the two schools came in the 2019-2020 season, when the Patriots defeated the Nittany Lions 78-68 in Happy Valley behind 41 points from Nicole Cardaño-Hillary. Penn State checks in with a final NET ranking of #27, meaning a win on Thursday for George Mason would be the highest rated win in the NET era. The Nittany Lions are a confusing team, as I suppose all bubble teams are this time of year. They’re 1-8 against NET 1-25 with the win being over Nebraska in January. They split the season series with Maryland (only common opponent with Mason) and their best non-con win is Kansas. Penn State is 9-11 against the top 100, and their worst loss was to #127 Wisconsin. They also boast the #7 offense in the country, scoring 83.6 points per game. Penn State’s downfall, without question, is their defense. Ranked #316 in the nation, they allow 71.6 points per game. They allowed 111 points to Iowa, but have broken 100 points on four separate occasions this season, maxing out at a 119-point onslaught en route to a 76-point win over Saint Francis (PA).

If George Mason advances, they would play the winner of #4 Ball State and Belmont on Sunday.

#3 Saint Joseph’s vs Seton Hall, Thursday March 21, 7:00PM (ESPN+)

After a 26-win regular season, the Hawks have been selected as one of just 16 seeded teams in the inaugural WBIT tournament, while the remaining 16 teams round out the field and were bracketed primarily regionally. Saint Joseph’s started the 2024 season on fire once again, winning each of their first eight contests, and posting an 11-1 non-conference record. What followed was a 15-3 A-10 record, including a 3rd place finish overall in the Atlantic 10. However, the Hawks hit some bumps in the road down the stretch of the season, losing three of their final five contests, including an 11-point loss at VCU, a five-point loss to Fordham at home, and a 10-point defeat at the hands of 6th seeded Rhode Island in the A-10 Quarterfinals. If the Hawks are able to snap out of the funk they closed the season on, they could be a very dangerous team in the WBIT.

Do your thing, 𝟐𝟏 😎#THWND | https://t.co/lLpjPqlHTH pic.twitter.com/gFDxXhxOzq

— Saint Joseph's WBB (@SJUHawks_WBB) March 5, 2024

Saint Joseph’s has the fifth best offense in the A-10 during the regular season, averaging 66.0 points per game, led by four different players averaging in double figures, Talya Brugler (15.8PPG), Laura Ziegler (14.6), Mackenzie Smith (12.8), and Chloe Welch (10.5). When the Hawks are playing well, they can score the ball exceptionally well. What has really been their Achilles heel down the stretch has been their offense, averaging just 50.7 points per game in their last three loses. Seton Hall is a team that, on paper, seems to be pretty evenly matched with SJU. The Pirates are ranked #64 in the NET, two spots behind Saint Joseph’s at #62 (with George Mason sandwiched in the middle at #63). SHU finished the regular season 16-13 and 8-10 in the Big East, earning a 7th place finish. The team averages 64.9 points a game, but has just one player averaging in double figures, Azana Banes at 14.7 points per game. Seton Hall also has a pair of familiar faces for A-10 fans, including for UMass Minutewoman Makennah White and for St. Bonaventure Bonnie I’yanna Lops.

If Saint Joseph’s advances, they would play the winner of #2 Cal and Hawaii on Sunday.

VCU at Villanova, Thursday March 21, 7:00PM (ESPN+)

VCU has enjoyed a massive rebound season from a year ago, improving from a 7-22 record to a 26-5 mark. The Rams currently boast the #4 defense in the nation, and for a good part of the year held the #1 spot. VCU allows just 52.5 points per game, and is led by Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, Sarah Te-Biasu. The Rams won 9 of their final 11 regular season contests, including wins over three of the top four teams in the A-10 during that stretch. However, their A-10 Tournament run was cut short at the hands of Saint Louis, suffering a 65-63 defeat in Henrico.

🚨 #A10WBB 𝙋𝙇𝘼𝙔𝙀𝙍 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙔𝙀𝘼𝙍…@VCUWBB's Sarah Te-Biasu 🚨

🏀 1st Ram to be named POTY
🏀 averaged 15.6 ppg & 17.3 ppg in A-10 play
🏀 added 2.9 apg and 3.4 rpg during A-10 play
🏀 rank 33rd nationally in 3's made per game (2.5)

📰: https://t.co/cJG6wu97Lt pic.twitter.com/Dh3t6ejgcv

— Atlantic 10 WBB (@A10WBB) March 5, 2024

Villanova is another strange team led by just one scorer averaging in double figures, Lucy Olsen who scores 23.2 points per game. The Wildcats enter with an 18-12 record and posted an 11-7 mark in the Big East, finishing 4th. There is likely to be some familiarity for Villanova in facing VCU, and the Rams will be the fourth A-10 opponent they will have seen this year, after defeating Richmond 67-57 on November 30, beating La Salle 74-60 on December 21, and falling to Saint Joseph’s 73-67 on December 9.

If VCU advances, they would play the winner of #4 Virginia and High Point on Sunday.

WNIT

Saint Louis vs Central Arkansas, Thursday March 21, 7:30PM (ESPN+)

After another A-10 Tournament run, the Billikens played their way into another postseason appearance. After finishing a disappointing 7th place in the A-10, Saint Louis overcame a double-digit deficit to GW in the Second Round, and knocked out 2-seed VCU in the Quarterfinals to reach the A-10 Semifinals for a second-consecutive season. SLU is led by an experienced bunch of returners from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, including Julia Martinez, Kyla McMakin, Peyton Kennedy, Tierra Simon, and Kennedy Calhoun.

Nothing better than a March celebration! @SaintLouisWBB is dancing on to the Semifinals tomorrow afternoon! #A10WBB https://t.co/R8NYsK9Lls pic.twitter.com/VKeqXGfwmZ

— Daniel Frank (@n1a2v3y4) March 9, 2024

The Billikens and Sugar Bears are ranked one spot apart in the NET, at #150 and #151 respectively. Central Arkansas enters with a 21-11 record and reached the ASUN Championship game before falling to FGCU.

If Saint Louis advances, they would play Northern Iowa on either Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.

Duquesne vs Buffalo/Monmouth, March 23-26, TBA (ESPN+)

Duquesne received a First Round bye in the WNIT, and will await the winner of Buffalo and Monmouth. In the new WNIT format, 16 teams receive a single-bye into the Second Round, while 32 teams will play in the First Round.

The Dukes reached the A-10 Semifinals this year for the first time since 2019, after an easy win over UMass in the 2nd Round, and a rather controversial finish against 4-seed George Mason in the Quarterfinals. The Dukes were upended by eventual champion, Richmond, in the semifinal round. Megan McConnell is the difference maker for this season, as she leads the team in scoring (13.1), assists (4.7), rebounds (8.6), steals (62) and free throws (88).

.@DuqWBB is moving on! Big one tomorrow against #4 Mason 👀#A10WBB https://t.co/3k5Brvv4ni pic.twitter.com/gLBavpUumG

— Daniel Frank (@n1a2v3y4) March 7, 2024

If Duquesne advances, the winner of Purdue and Butler/Bowling Green on either Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.

https://www.a10talk.com/2024/03/2024-a10wbb-postseason-guide/

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