Jan. 23, 2001

Box Score

Boone, N.C. - A fifth double-double performance for the season by Jamie Gagliano plus four other Mountaineers in double figures equaled a 79-72 win over Western Carolina Tuesday night in the Holmes Center. Gagliano1s 13 points and 15 rebounds helped Appalachian (4-14, 2-7) pick up a Southern Conference victory over Western Carolina (8-10, 2-7), despite a 25-point effort by Laura Echols.

The first half of the game was a seesaw battle for control. Neither team could gain a substantial lead, the contest was tied five times in the first stanza. Echols notched 13 of her points and Gagliano had nine rebounds and nine points before the break. Mountaineer Lauren Romano added two three-point baskets within a minute of each other with less than one minute to go to bring the score to a 33-35 Catamount lead going into the half.

Appalachian came out strong to start the second half, making an 11-point run at the 16:44 mark. Nine of the points in that run came from Tiffani Johnson, who was the leading Mountaineer scorer with 18 points. Also a force in the second half was freshman and first-time starter Rebecca Norris, who led the team in assists with six. After leading by 12 at the 4:26 mark, Appalachian's advantage was cut to six with 1:57 left by an energetic Catamount offense. The Mountaineers were able to hang onto the lead thanks to accuracy from the line by Romano and Jaymi Wilson.

Western Carolina had three players in double figures for the evening: Echols, Tiffany Hamm with 19, and Marsha McGillivary with 10. Christy Blackwell added six assists for the Catamounts.

In doubles for the Mountaineers were Johnson, Gagliano, Romano with 13, and Wilson with 13. Senior Natasha Lettsome, who was honored this evening for making her 1,000th point, celebrated by turning in a 14-point performance.