"14 in 14" Preview #1: Davidson, The Newest #A10 Member

Over the next two weeks, we'll be sharing portions of our conversations with Atlantic 10 women's basketball head coaches from their recent Media Day here in Richmond to get you ready for November 14th, the night 13 of 14 teams begin their new seasons.

First up, the newest member of the conference.

Team: Davidson Wildcats
Head Coach: Michele Savage (Northwestern '93, 5th season)
2013-14 Record: 16-16 (11-7 in Southern Conference)
Returning Starters:
--Dakota Dukes (6' junior forward): 14.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg
--Hannah Early (6' 1" senior forward): 13.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg
--Shannon Eriksson (5' 7" senior guard): 5.4 ppg, 78% FT pct.)
--Lillian McCabe (6' senior guard): 4.6 ppg,

1) What is Davidson Basketball?

Savage: "We've been a successful program for the past four years in the SoCon (Southern Conference), winning the league, going to the NIT, things of that sort. It's good, fundamental basketball, that's what we are. It's going to be exciting to watch us play."

2) Are you more of a defensive-oriented team?

Savage: "Absolutely not. We have got to improve on defense, bottom line. Last year, we scored about as many points a game as we gave up. When you do that, you get 16-16. We need to dedicate and refocus on the defensive end."

3) How do you prepare your team for the Atlantic 10? It's exciting, but does it leave any questions in the back of their minds?

Savage: "I would certainly think so. We started with them (on this process) last year in the spring when the pairings came out and had them watch the three schools (Dayton, St. Joseph's, Fordham) playing in the NCAA Tournament to say, hey, this is now our competition. They came back with very good, valid points on the differences, and a lot of it was strength. So we went to the weight room, working to build our strength and not worry about how we look in shorts. It's more for safety, and being able to hold our own on the floor, and they really bought into that."

Savage explained to RVA Sports Network another big change is transitioning from a "bus league" to a "plane league", and how traveling will be a totally new experience for her squad. Whereas most Southern Conference schools are a bus trip away, life in the A-10 provides opportunities to play far away from Davidson, North Carolina in conference, from Amherst, Massachusetts to St. Louis, Missouri.

4) How about the freshman class? You certainly tried to bring new players in knowing they would be coming to an Atlantic 10 program, it had to add a new dimension to recruiting.

Savage: "It certainly does, because most of my team signed up for the SoCon, so our team motto this year is "Sacrifice". Returning players have to do a lot more, you have to sacrifice, and they've embraced it. We are expecting our freshmen to be key players; they will play a lot this first year. The opportunity for them to play in the A-10 was there, and when you're combining talent, you're trying to get the most out that you can from everybody. Players may have started at different levels, but we're trying to bring everyone up to the new level."

This will be the 42nd season of Davidson women's basketball, half of them were spent in the Southern Conference. Their last postseason win was two years ago, at Old Dominion in the first round of the WNIT.

The Wildcats have never met nine of their new conference partners. They lost their only games against Rhode Island (1995-96), Saint Joseph's (2008-09) and Richmond (last season). They are 1-2 all-time against Duquesne.

They'll get an early test of the new benchmark of strength and conditioning when they open the season on the road at former SoCon rival Furman November 14th. The Wildcats have won five of their last eight meetings with the Paladins.

The first Atlantic 10 conference game in Davidson history arrives January 4th when they host La Salle.