Feb. 23, 2004
Final Stats
Spartanburg, S.C. - Western Carolina completed its third season sweep of the year Monday night as the Lady Catamounts defeated Wofford 78-59. Shooting nearly 53 percent for the game, the Cats improved to 11-15 overall and 10-9 in the Southern Conference, which is the first time WCU has been over the .500 mark in the league since early January. The Terriers remain winless for the season at 0-26, 0-19.
The Lady Terriers led most of the first half with their largest margin at six (25-19) with 6:05 remaining before halftime. However, the Catamounts would outscore Wofford 15-4 to close the half and take a 34-29 lead into the break.
Wofford came out of the locker room with a 4-0 run on back-to-back lay ups by Susanna Paul to close the gap to one point. Western Carolina then put the game away for good with a 17-0 spurt over 4:49 on the clock as the Cats did to the Terriers what had been done to them in the first half - sink multiple trifectas. Ki-Ki Glass, Yoneko Allen and Sigita Maleraite each hit a 3-pointer during the span to boost WCU's offense.
LaToya Strong knocked home a 3-pointer with 8:56 left to bring the Lady Terriers within 10 but Western scored seven straight points to increase its lead to 17 with 4:31 to go. The Catamounts kept Wofford from trimming the margin any closer than 14 the remainder of the contest.
Four Catamounts reached double figures, led by Jennifer Gardner's 18 and Tiffany Hamm's 17. Gardner also collected 11 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Hamm additionally grabbed six boards to record her 700th career rebound (now with 701). Maleraite and Lori Tanner chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Christy Blackwell led the field with seven assists. That total moves her into third on WCU's all-time list, passing Catamount great Judy Green (1981-84) with 377 career assists.
Brie Bradshaw paced the Lady Terriers with 14 points, her second straight outing with that tally, while Stephanie Ripberger notched 10, including a 2-of-2 effort from behind the 3-point arc.
The Catamounts close their regular-season at home against Appalachian State Saturday (Feb. 28) at 4:00 pm. The game marks the first of a doubleheader with the men hosting ASU at 7:00. It will not only be beach night at the RAC, but the two programs will also be recognizing their respective seniors prior to their games. The Lady Terriers will conclude their regular-season with a 7:00 game Friday (Feb. 27) versus UNC Greensboro in the Benjamin Johnson Arena.
