Jan. 10, 2005

Final Stats

Johnson City, Tenn. - Western Carolina's top two scorers were limited to a combined 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting as the East Tennessee State Lady Bucs sailed past the Lady Cats, 84-68, Monday night in Southern Conference action.

Western (7-8, 3-5 SoCon) was led by Shaketia Barnes for the second-consecutive game. The Wilson, N.C., senior scored finished with 15 points, seven of which came from the free throw line. Senior Sigita Maleraite was the only other Lady Cat to reach double figures, finishing with 10 points, eight in the first half. Freshman Jessika Johnson added nine points, while her guard classmates Chevon Keith and Ashley Pellom each tied career highs. Keith swiped four steals for the second-straight game, while Pellom dished out a career-tying best five assists.

Senior guard Ki-Ki Glass tied a season high with six rebounds to lead the Lady Catamounts. She also dished out four assists, surpassing the 300-assist mark for her career. The milestone came at the 18:23 mark of the first half when Glass found classmate Jennifer Gardner for a deuce that tied the game at four apiece.

Despite being held to four points, a seasonal-low for the forward, Gardner surpassed Beth Crisp (1978-81) for eighth on the WCU All-time Rebounds list. Gardner currently has 713 boards, 44 shy of seventh on the all-time list.

After leading the first minute of the game, East Tennessee State embarked on a 10-1 run to garner a 14-5 advantage, prompting WCU head coach Kellie Harper to burn a 30-second timeout. The stoppage only managed to slow the bleeding as the Lady Bucs would continue to pull away and would lead by as many as 11. Western threw in an 8-0 spurt to close to within three with just under eight minutes to play befor half, but ETSU withstood the run and held a 38-29 edge at the break.

East Tennessee State used a 13-2 run to start the second half to pull ahead by 23. The Lady Bucs would stretch their advantage to as many as 27 on three occasions before Western would retaliate. The Lady Catamounts reeled off an 11-2 run, holding ETSU scoreless for over two minutes to close the gap to 12, 80-68. But the Bucs connected on four free throws to ice the win over the final minute.

East Tennessee State (6-8, 4-3 SoCon) was led by SoCon leading scorer Tiffani Mayes with 30 points on 14-of-21 shooting. She also added a game-high 13 rebounds as ETSU outrebounded the Lady Cats 47-37. B.J. Banjo joined Mayes in double figures, finishing with 18 points, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and dished out 10 assists.

Western Carolina kicks off a three-game homestand, its longest of the season, this Saturday, January 15 as it hosts UNC Greensboro. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm in the Ramsey Center.