Dec. 29, 2005

Final Stats

Columbia, S.C. - Western Carolina drained back-to-back jumpers, including one from 3-point range, to race out to a 5-0 advantage in the opening moments over the Gamecocks Thursday night in the Colonial Center. However, South Carolina embarked on a 19-2 run to erase the five-point deficit and build a lead it would never relinquish, knocking off the Lady Catamounts, 95-53.

Western (0-9) was led by sophomore Chevon Keith and freshman Lauren Powell, each scoring 10 points in the loss. Keith added four rebounds, an assist and a steal in the loss while Powell, who notched her team-high seventh double-digit scoring outing of the season, scored nine of her 10 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Freshman Amelia Miller, playing in front of friends and family from her nearby hometown of Winnsboro, S.C., scored seven in the loss and pulled down a career-best four rebounds. Classmates Jessika Johnson and Ashley Pellom each scored six, with Johnson adding four rebounds and Pellom dishing out four assists.

Things started well for the Lady Catamounts, who were playing their final non-conference game of the season. After a missed jumper by Powell, freshman April Parker gave WCU a second chance with an offensive board, dishing to Pellom who found Johnson on the right side of the lane where she tallied the game's first points. After a USC turnover, Pellom again found a teammate, dishing the ball to Powell who dialed long distance for the 3-point basket and the five-point lead.

However, over the next six minutes, South Carolina mounted a 19-2 run to take a 12-point, 19-7 lead. During the streak, Western's lone points came from a Johnson jumper, which cut the deficit back to two at 9-7 at the time. The Lady Catamounts would trail by 24 on three occasions in the opening half, including intermission, 49-25.

A 9-to-4 Western Carolina spurt out of the locker room, including a pair of Powell treys, cut the Gamecock lead down to 19, 53-34. But it would be the last time WCU would be able to cut the `Cock lead under 20 points as USC embarked on an 18-6 run to build its advantage to 31 midway through the half.

Trailing by 34, Parker drained Western's final field goal with 4:54 remaining in the game as the Lady Cats only managed three made free throws down the stretch as a part of a 13-3 USC run to finish with the final tally, 95-53.

Overall, the taller South Carolina squad swatted 13 shots and out rebounded Western 52-to-38, including a 21-to-17 edge on the offensive glass. The Gamecocks, who entered the game ranked third in the nation in field goal defense, held WCU to 28.8 percent from the floor. Conversely, USC shot 53-percent from the field for the game, including 60-percent in the opening half.

Western Carolina, the lone Southern Conference squad yet to play a league game, will remedy that on Saturday afternoon when it visits Wofford (4-5, 0-1 SoCon) at 1:00 pm for a New Year's Eve tilt with the Terriers at the Benjamin Johnson Arena in Spartanburg, S.C. The game will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network with Brandon Stephens and Daniel Hooker on the call. Fans can listen to the game in Western North Carolina on WZNN SuperTalk 1350 AM in Asheville with an air time of 12:45 pm. The station also offers streaming audio online at www.SuperTalk1350.com.