Jan. 27, 2004
Final Stats
Cullowhee, N.C. - Free throws turned out to be one of the many keys for Western Carolina as the Catamounts completed the season sweep of Davidson with a 75-70 win at the RAC Tuesday night. It was the first time since the 2000-01 season that Western has taken both regular-season games from the Wildcats. With the win, WCU improves to 6-12 overall and 5-6 in the Southern Conference, while Davidson falls to 11-8, 8-4.
"I thought we gave an excellent team effort tonight," praised WCU head coach Beth Dunkenberger. "We kept up the defensive intensity for a full 40 minutes and we attacked the press well. The team really did a nice job of making each other look good with 17 assists for the game."
Midway through the first half, senior Christy Blackwell grabbed a steal from Davidson's Tia Washington, which made Blackwell WCU's outright, all-time career leader in steals. Her three takeaways in the game gives her 246 for her career. She added nine points, a season-high seven rebounds and a season-tying six assists in 35 minutes of play to give fire to the Catamounts both on offense and defense.
"I think Christy (Blackwell) gives the best defensive effort of anyone in the SoCon," Dunkenberger said. "She puts pressure on the ball from one end of the court to the other, which intimidates her opponents. She really did an outstanding job tonight."
The Catamounts built an early 14-4 lead, capped off by junior Lori Tanner's shot from 3-point range. However, Davidson quickly put together a 14-0 run of its own to take the team's first lead of the game in the opening period. The Wildcats led by as many as eight as Robyn Flewelling hit a jumper to give DC the 24-16 advantage.
The remainder of the first half was a tight battle on both ends of the hardwood as there were five lead changes and three ties. Junior Jennifer Gardner connected on both of her free throws with 10 seconds on the clock to put the Cats ahead for good. Gardner hit a career-high 11-of-11 from the line in the game. One made charity shot by Linsay Shade made the score 37-36 in favor of Western at the break.
The Catamounts opened the second stanza with a 7-0 run, sparked by a basket and two more free throws from Gardner, who finished the game just one point shy of tying a career-high, ending the night with 23 points. Davidson squeezed Western's lead to two points twice before the Cats stretched it back to 10 on a trifecta by senior Tiffany Hamm with just over nine minutes to go. Ashley Hallsted sank a ringer to bring the Wildcats back within two at 69-67 with 1:28 on the clock. However, Davidson would get no closer as Gardner and Hamm cashed in on six final free throws to seal the win. A Meghan Bryant 3-pointer with four seconds to go made the final score 75-70.
"We gave an outstanding performance in the paint tonight, especially with Jen (Gardner) and Tiffany (Hamm) both getting double figure rebounds," Dunkenberger said. "Our posts looked good, thanks to our guards who did a very good job of finding the open player."
In addition to her 23 points, Gardner added 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season to tie for second in the SoCon. Hamm led all scorers, tying a career-high 28 points for the fourth time during her tenure, third time this season, adding 11 boards for her seventh double-double of the year, which leads the league currently. Tanner also recorded double figures for the Cats with 12 points, tallying four rebounds, four assists and a steal. Western shot a season-high 96.3 percent from the line in the game, hitting 26-of-27 free throws. WCU shot 39.3 percent from the floor.
Davidson was held to 36.8 percent shooting, but did shoot 80 percent from the charity stripe (12-of-15). The Wildcats were led by Bryant with 15 points. Courtney Laird and Katie Hamilton pitched in 13 points apiece, while Emily Callahan had 12. Davidson was outrebounded 37-43 on the night, but committed fewer turnovers (14-19).
Western Carolina returns to the court on Saturday, Jan. 31, as the Lady Cats host the College of Charleston at 4:00 pm in the first game of a doubleheader at the RAC. The Catamount men are set to host East Tennessee State at 7:00 pm.
