Jan. 11, 2003

Final Stats

Charleston, S.C. - Sparked by Jennifer Gardner's team-high 16 points and career-high 14 rebounds, the Lady Catamounts overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to defeat the College of Charleston, 65-64, Saturday afternoon in the John Kresse Arena. With the win, the Cats improve to 10-3 overall and 3-1 in the SoCon, while the Cougars drop to 6-7 and 1-3.

Charleston and Western Carolina kept the game close in the first half until the 9:43 mark when the Cougars went on a 14-0 run to take the 12-point lead before Yoneko Allen's two-pointer with 5:20 left ended the streak. The Cougars dominated the rest of the first half and increased the lead to 18, after leading by as much as 20 late, and ended the half with a 43-25 margin.

Western Carolina outscored C of C, 12-2, in the first seven minutes of the second half to bring the score to 45-39. Janetta Heggins tied a season-high four steals, all coming in the second half, to give the Catamounts the edge they needed to stay in the game. Heggins also scored a season-high 13 points to help WCU down the stretch.

Cougar shooting remained cold throughout the half as Western Carolina slowly decreased the deficit, getting the margin to just one at 6:35, before Marketta Talley put up five points to take the lead back to six at 61-55 with 5:28 left. Western Carolina went on a 10-3 run the final five-and-a-half minutes, taking its first lead of the half off the last field goal of the game at 65-64. Shanna Mickens took a layup with four seconds left but the ball bounced around the rim before ending up in the hands of Western Carolina as the game ended.

The Cougars shot 42.4 percent for the game, while Western Carolina shot 47.1. The Catamounts edged Charleston in rebounding at 35-32, but had four more turnovers (22-18). Fouls hurt the Cougars, with the Catamounts connecting on 15-of-21 free throws in the game for a 71.4 percentage. Charleston was 8-for-12 for 71.4 percent.

Talley's 20 points led all scores, and Wilma Simpson followed with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the doubel-double.

Western Carolina, off to its best start since a 10-3 mark to start the 1980-81 season, heads up the road to East Tennessee State for a 5:00 pm game on Monday, Jan. 13.