Dec. 6, 2004

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina put four players into double figures, but could not overcome the 27 points by Appalachian State junior guard KiKi Conyers as the Lady Catamounts dropped their second-straight, 71-68, to the Mountaineers Monday night in the Ramsey Center.

"Coming down the stretch, we made some crucial turnovers and gave up too many offensive boards. You can't beat a good basketball team like Appalachian State with mental mistakes and turnovers," said Lady Catamount head coach Kellie Harper.

She added, "We've got to find a way to step it up defensively. We're finding ways to score, but we've got to get some stops on the other end. Right now, we're putting too much pressure on ourselves offensively by not doing it on the defensive end."

Western (4-3, 0-1) was led by senior forward Lori Tanner with 11 points and six rebounds. She also dished out two assists for the Lady Cats on the night. Tanner's frontcourt classmate, Sigita Maleraite recorded her second double-figure scoring output on the season, tallying 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds, including five on the offensive end, in the loss. Senior Shaketia Barnes and junior Teyawna Hardy each poured in 10 points for Western Carolina on the night.

Senior point guard Ki-Ki Glass dished out a team-high five assists to move into a tie for fifth on WCU's all-time assist list. She currently stands tied with Laura Vannoy, who played for WCU during the 1987-1990 seasons, with 280 career assists.

Appalachian (4-3, 2-0) controlled the first half, only trailing on one occasion, 18-16 at the 9:23 mark. The Mountaineers closed the half by pulling ahead by as many as ten on the strength of a Whitney Tossie 3-pointer.

Opening up the second, Western trailed by as many as 11 before embarking on an18-6 run over eight and a half minutes to claim its first lead since the two-point advantage midway through the first half. During the run, the Lady Cats crashed the offensive boards, pulling down six rebounds after their own misses. WCU extended its lead to as many as six on three occasions before Appalachian State started its comeback.

Slowly but surely, the Mountaineers crept back into the game and were trailing by five with 2:50 to play in regulation. Appalachian would regain the lead on a Jessica Jank lay-up following a Conyers steal.

Western battled back, knotting the game at 66-apiece when senior Jennifer Gardner connected on one-or-two from the charity stripe. However, the Mountaineers had the answer at the other end, connecting on five of six from the free-throw line in the final minute. Freshman Ashley Pellom's 3-point shot as the final horn sounded bounced off the back iron securing the ASU victory. In all, ASU outscored Western 13-5 down the stretch, including the five free throws in the final minute to pull out the victory.

In addition to Conyers' 27, the Mountaineers got 17 points and 10 rebounds from sophomore forward Danielle Edwards, with Jank adding eight points on 3-of-4 shooting. Senior guards Lindsay Smith and Michelle Conklin each dished out a game-high six assists in the winning effort.

Western Carolina continues on its stretch of five games in 10 days as it stays in conference, traveling to Wofford on Wednesday, December 8 for a 4:30 tip with the Terriers. The game can be heard live locally on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5, or via the station's web site at www.wwcufm.com.