Jan. 16, 2006

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - For the second-straight game in the Ramsey Center, one women's basketball team mounted a feverish rally down the stretch and had a last second look at the basket for a potential tie. On Monday night, Western Carolina tried to repeat what Chattanooga had pulled just two days prior, but the Lady Catamounts' last second runner rimmed out and the Georgia Southern Lady Eagles held on for the two-point, 72-70, victory in Southern Conference play.

Tied at 63 with 3:21 showing on the game clock, Georgia Southern held Western scoreless for nearly two minutes while it ran off a 7-0 spurt to pull ahead, 70-63, with 96 seconds remaining in the contest. But the Lady Catamounts would not quit. Following a 1-of-2 showing at the free throw line by sophomore Chevon Keith, Western turned back-to-back GSU turnovers into four points, slicing the deficit to two, 70-68. After a missed jumper by the Eagles' senior Nicole Newton, Western had two good looks at the basket thanks to an offensive rebound, but could not find the range and were forced to foul.

GSU's Ashley Melson made one of two from the charity stripe to extend the lead to three, 71-68, but Catamount sophomore Ashley Pellom drove the lane and sank a lay-up to cut the lead to one, 71-70. After a time-out, Western was unable to make a steal on the in-bounds pass and was forced to foul, putting senior Lee DuBose on the free throw line with just under five seconds to play. DuBose made one of two for the 72-70 lead, which allowed WCU to think about more than just a 3-pointer. Freshman guard Teshymia Tillman took the ball coast-to-coast, splitting the Lady Eagle defense along the way, but her lay-up runner in the lane circled the cylinder and fell out, dropping Western to 2-13 overall and 2-4 in the So Con.

The loss was Western's sixth by four points or less this season, with two additional contests needing overtime to determine the victor. All told, the aforementioned six losses have been by a combined 15 total points. The Lady Catamounts also remain winless at home in five attempts this season, 0-3 in league play.

Keith led the way for the Lady Catamounts on the night, just missing her career-high with 15 points, eight rebounds, and a pair of assists. Her frontcourt classmate, Monique Dawson, recorded her fifth-consecutive, double-digit scoring output, finishing with 13 points, three steals, and also dished out a pair of assists. Freshman Lauren Powell chipped in a dozen, including two from long range, while Pellom scored 10 and dished out three helpers.

Tillman on the night finished with six points and a career-high five assists, with her classmate, April Parker, leading Western on the boards with nine rebounds and seven points.

After trailing early by two, Western countered with a 10-0 run that spanned nearly four minutes to lead by eight, 10-2, at the 15:17 mark of the first half. The Lady Catamounts nursed their advantage over the next seven minutes until GSU knotted the game at 17-all at the 8:31 mark then outscored Western 18-9 the remainder of the half to lead at the break, 35-26.

In the second half, the Lady Catamounts came out of the blocks with a 13-to-4 run over the first four and a half minutes to erase the deficit and tie the game at 41. From that point forward, neither team would manage a lead larger than five points until GSU squeezed ahead by seven with 1:36 to play, setting up the scramble to the finish. Georgia Southern (7-9, 4-3 SoCon) put two players in double-figures, led by 19 points and nine rebounds from Newton, with sophomore Chequilla Jessie tallying the game's only double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds.

Western will have a very short turnaround, hosting UNC Greensboro at Noon on Wednesday in the Ramsey Center for Education Day. With area youth out of school, WCU is offering FREE admission to all students ages 18 and under, with accompanying parents admitted for just $3.00. There is also a business lunch special available on Wednesday, with a $5.00 ticket also securing a FREE hotdog, bag of chips, and a drink from the concessions stand, courtesy of Aramark Dining Services. Parents, if they want, will be able to "upgrade" to the business lunch special also. UNC Greensboro is coming off an overtime loss at home to the College of Charleston in which the Cougars erased an eight-point deficit over the final 1:03 to force overtime and won in the extra session.

Wednesday's game will be carried live by the Catamount Sports Network exclusively on WWCU-FM in Cullowhee, Power 90dot5 and on-line at www.WWCUFM.com. Fans can also access live stats through GameTracker, presented by the Catamount Travel Center, by visiting www.CatamountSports.com.