Dec. 31, 2005

Final Stats

Spartanburg, S.C. - Using 19 points from freshman Lauren Powell and a strong defense effort that forced a season-high 19 steals, the Western Carolina Lady Catamounts ran past the Wofford Terriers, 79-54, Saturday afternoon at the Benjamin Johnson Arena. The win was Western's first of the 2005-06 season and also marked the ninth-consecutive victory over the Terriers dating back to 2003.

Powell's team-leading eighth double-digit scoring output of the season led a trio of Lady Cats in double figures. Sophomore Ashley Pellom set career-highs with 11 points, including shooting 9-of-10 from the free throw line, and seven rebounds. The Wilmington, N.C., native also dished out a game-high eight assists and made three steals. Her classmate, Chevon Keith, scored 10 points in the win, duplicating Pellom's performance on defense with three steals of her own.

Freshman April Parker tied her career-bests with nine points, seven rebounds, and was credited with one blocked shot despite altering multiple attempts in the Terrier paint. En route to the seasonal-best 19 steals - and in addition to Keith and Pellom's trio apiece - sophomores Erin May and Jessika Johnson each swiped three steals, with freshman guard Teshymia Tillman also coming away with three takeaways.

Wofford took the early lead with a lay-up inside the opening 30 seconds of the game. Western responded, however, with the first of four Powell 3-pointers. Trailing 4-3, the Lady Catamounts regained the lead for good when Parker laid one in at the 18:19 mark of the first half, sparking a 15-4 run that would put Western ahead by 10 with 12:20 remaining before the half. The Terriers chiseled the lead back down to six, 18-12, four minutes later, but an 18-6 spurt by the Cats ballooned the advantage to a first-half high of 18, 36-to-18.

Western led at intermission for just the fourth-time this season, carrying a 17-point, 38-21, into the locker room. The 21 first half points by Wofford were the fewest allowed by a Kellie Harper-led Lady Catamount squad. It also was the lowest scoring output of a Western opponent in a single half since limiting Davidson to an identical tally of 21 in the quarterfinal round of the 2003 SoCon Championships.

In the second half, the Lady Catamounts embarked on a 24-to-7 run over the first 10 minutes to blow the game open, grabbing a commanding 34-point lead, 62-28, with 9:19 to play. During the decisive run, Western's defense forced nine turnovers and 10 missed shots. The Terriers did manage to chip away at WCU's cushion, cutting the deficit to 20 points, 68-48, with 3:52 to play, but never really posed a great threat and Western cruised to the 25-point win, 79-54.

Western set several team highs and held the Terriers to numerous opponent lows in the win. The Lady Cats shot a seasonal-best 46.6-percent from the floor and tied its best showing from the free throw line, draining 20-of-25 attempts for 80-percent. While WCU did create 19 steals, it also turned the ball over a season-worst 30 times, but forced an opponent high 33 giveaways and limited Wofford to the lowest point total of the season (54).

Wofford (4-6, 0-2 SoCon) was led by 19 points from senior forward Nakia Mister, who scored 14 of her final tally in the second half. Sophomore Kelsi Koenig, who entered the game leading the SoCon in scoring, was held just below her seasonal average, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

Western returns to action on Monday, January 2, hosting the Elon Phoenix in just the third home contest of the season for the Lady Catamounts. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm in the Ramsey Center. The game will be broadcast live by the Catamount Sports Network with a 6:45 pm air time and can be heard locally in Cullowhee on WWCU-FM Power 90dot5 and in the Asheville area on WZNN, SuperTalk 1350 AM. Both stations offer streaming audio online at www.WWCUFM.com and www.SuperTalk1350.com. Also, live GameTracker will be provided online at www.CatamountSports.com.