Box Score Nov. 21, 2005
Final Stats
East Lansing, Mich. - Freshman guard Lauren Powell scored a career-high 20 points on Sunday afternoon to lead Western Carolina, but it wasn't enough as the 10th-ranked Michigan State Spartans used a 15-to-2 run over a 10-minute span in the first half to pull ahead by double-digits and never looked back, defeating the Lady Catamounts, 84-61, in the Breslin Center.
With the loss, Western opens the season 0-2, marking the first-time since the Maria Fantanarosa-led Cats duplicated the slow start back in 1997-98. Michigan State, who was the national runner-up a year ago, improved to 2-0 with back-to-back 20-point plus victories.
Powell led two Lady Catamounts in double figures, nailing six 3-pointers in the loss. She finished 7-of-16 from the floor and added four rebounds and a steal to the cause. Sophomore Chevon Keith added 13 points for Western, most of which came in the second half as the All-Southern Conference selection was limited to a pair of points in the first half. Her classmate, guard Ashley Pellom, dished out 10 assists in the loss, scoring six points and stealing three.
Although they trailed throughout, Western kept the game close early on, withstanding the first flurry by the Spartans on the offensive end. Following back-to-back turnovers, the Lady Cats found themselves down seven very quickly, 9-2. However, Western battled back to cut the deficit to two just before the first major run by the Spartans.
Leading 12-to-9, Michigan State embarked on the aforementioned 15-2 run over nearly 10 minutes to pull out to a double-digit advantage. To compound the issue of the Spartans scoring, Western went ice cold from the floor during that stretch, missing 11-straight shots and committing nine costly turnovers. When the dust finally settled, Michigan State had pulled out to a 27-11 lead. The Spartans led at intermission by 14, 42-28.
Offensive woes continued at the outset of the second half for Western as MSU came out of the locker room and used an 8-0 spurt to push their advantage to over 20 points, which was as close as the Lady Catamounts would be the rest of the contest. MSU opened up a 32-point, 71-39, lead at the 8:46 mark of the contest. But the Lady Catamounts rallied for the final margin of 23, 86-61.
The Spartans were paced by 28 points from 2004-05 All-American honorable mention, senior Liz Shimek with 28 points on 13-of-16 shooting from the floor. She added 10 rebounds for the game's lone double-double. Senior Lindsay Bowen and junior Rene Haynes each scored 11 for MSU in the win.
Western Carolina returns to action this coming weekend, Nov. 26 and 27, as it travels to the Seminole Classic in Tallahassee, Fla. The Lady Catamounts will battle the host Seminoles at Noon on Saturday the 26th, and will face either Wright State from the Horizon League or the Univ. of Montana, the defending Big Sky champ, on Sunday afternoon. All of the action will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network as Brandon Stephens and Steven Crumpler are scheduled to have the call. Air time next Saturday is 11:45 am, with the Noon tip-off, and can be heard in Cullowhee on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 or in Asheville, 1350 AM WZNN. Fans can also follow the action on-line at www.wwcufm.com, www.wwcu.fm, or www.supertalk350.com.
