Box Score Jan. 25, 2005
Final Stats
Davidson, N.C. -
Freshman guard Ashley Pellom drained a jumper from the left wing with 26 seconds remaining in regulation to knot the game a 63, but Davidson's Jessica Mitchell sank a pair of free throws with half a second showing on the clock as the Wildcats outlasted the Western Carolina, 65-63, Tuesday night in Southern Conference action.
Moments before Pellom knocked down the two-pointer, the Lady Catamounts (8-11, 4-8 SoCon) had fallen behind by six points after leading the majority of the game. Junior Teyawna Hardy drove hard to the bucket but missed the lay-up. The Ellenboro, N.C. native hustled for the rebound, laying it softly off the back iron to pull Western back to within four, missing on the free throw opportunity to shrink the deficit more.
Pellom made a steal on the ensuing Davidson (11-8, 8-4 SoCon) possession with senior Jennifer Gardner drawing a foul on a shot attempt. Gardner nailed the two free throws setting up Pellom's heroics with time dwindling in the game.
Western was paced on the night by a trio of seniors, led by forward Lori Tanner with 16 points, one shy of her career high. She added four rebounds and a pair of steals in the losing effort. Guard Shaketia Barnes added 14 points and a pair of assists for the Lady Catamounts, with the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week, Jennifer Gardner, reaching double figures for the fourth-consecutive game tallying 10 and a team-high seven rebounds. With her effort, Gardner advanced to 13th on the WCU All-time scoring list with 1,141 points and into a tie for sixth on the All-time rebound list with Roxanne Williams (1988-91) with 756 career boards.
Senior Sigita Maleraite and junior Teyawna Hardy each added seven points to the fray, with senior point guard Ki-Ki Glass dishing out four assists and swiping four steals in the loss.
The Lady Catamounts raced out to their best start of the season, gliding out to a 10-0 lead on 83-percent shooting from the floor. Conversely, Davidson missed its first four shots from the field prompting head coach Annette Watts to spend an early timeout. After the break, the Wildcats scratched the board with a lay-up to cut the lead to eight. Western responded by building the advantage to its largest of the half, 11, a mere five minutes into the game.
Western nursed its advantage through the first half only to see the home-standing Wildcats whittle it down to one at halftime, 34-33.
In the second, Maleraite pushed the advantage back to three with a lay-up inside the first minute of play, but Davidson's Danielle Hemerka drained one of the Wildcats' three, 3-pointers to tie the game for the first time since the opening tip. The two squads traded buckets until a WCU turnover and a Davidson basket gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 40-38, at the 17:15 mark of the second half.
From that point, the Wildcats grew their advantage to as many as eight on four separate occasions before Western started to slowly inch back into contention, setting up the drama down the final three minutes of regulation.
Davidson also had three players finish in double figures, led by senior Emily Callahan with 17 points and nine rebounds. Junior Janell Crayton added 14 points and sophomore Tia Washington dumped in 10 for the Wildcats. The two game-winning charity tosses by sophomore Jessica Mitchell were her only points on the night the `Cats team leader in 3-point field goal percentage was held to 0-for-3 from the field, 0-for-1 from behind the arc.
The Wildcats did, however, hold a commanding advantage on the glass, outrebounding Western 46-35, including a demonstrative 20-8 advantage on the offensive boards.
Western Carolina continues its three-game road swing this Saturday, January 29 as it travels down I-26 to Charleston to battle the Cougars in the Kresse Arena. Tip-off for the SoCon showdown is set for 7:00 pm.
