Jan. 30, 2006

Final Stats

Elon, N.C. - Freshman Lauren Powell led three Lady Catamounts in double figures with 14 points, but it was play on the defensive end that keyed Western Carolina's 56-48 win over the Elon Phoenix Monday afternoon at Alumni Gym. Western held Elon to opponent-lows 48 points and 34.5-percent shooting from the floor in winning for the first-time when limited to fewer than 70 points.

WCU head coach Kellie Harper credited the win to the inside play of her post players, both defensively and rebounding.

"I've blistered our posts over the last couple of weeks," said Harper during a post-game interview on the Catamount Sports Network broadcast. "They really came through for us this afternoon with doing a great job on the defensive end and rebounding. We challenged them at halftime to hit the offensive boards more and they responded with each post grabbing at least one. But their defensive job was phenomenal. (Kitara) McMoore is an outstanding basketball player and our posts did a great job guarding her today."

After missing double-figures in each of the past two games, Powell again found her stroke from long-range, burying 4-of-7 from beyond the 3-point arc to finish with 14 points. Senior Teyawna Hardy, making her first career start finished with 11 points, with sophomore Chevon Keith adding 10 and nine rebounds off the bench. Returning to the lineup after missing Saturday's game versus Wofford, sophomore Ashley Pellom dished out five assists with just one turnover.

Freshman April Parker added six points in the win, with classmate Kendra Eaton adding two. But more importantly, the two posts combined to hold three-time SoCon Player of the Week, Elon's Kitara McMoore, to four points on 2-of-8 shooting. McMoore scorched the Ramsey Center nets back on Jan. 2 for a career-best 31.

Elon jumped out to the early lead, 9-4, using the lone points on the afternoon by sophomore Robyn Shipley on a 3-pointer. Western closed the gap, forcing the game's fourth tie at 11 all on a Keith jumper at the 15:07 mark. Over the next eight minutes, neither team could tally a score as the game stayed knotted at 11 until Elon pulled out by two, 13-11. Following Elon's brief lead, the Lady Catamounts embarked on a 9-0 spurt to erase the deficit and pull ahead by seven - its largest lead of the first half, 20-13, with just under four minutes remaining until intermission. Leading by four, Elon junior Myra Donkin drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to slice the WCU advantage to one, 22-21, at the break.

In the second, Western edged out by as many as five before Elon rallied to tie the game at 28 all five minutes in. The Lady Catamounts were able to maintain their advantage until the Phoenix broke the third tie of the second stanza to pull out by two, 46-44, with six minutes showing on the game clock. Yet, keyed by a pair of made free throws by Parker, Western outscored Elon 12-2 over the final six minutes, including a 5-of-6 showing from the charity stripe, to seal the road victory.

With McMoore struggling, Elon looked to its guards to pick up the scoring slack. Sophomore Tierra Bumbrey finished with a game-high 16 points, with her backcourt teammate, Donkin, adding 13, including 3-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. McMoore led all players with 14 rebounds.

Western returns to action for a two-game home stand, hosting the Davidson Wildcats this Saturday, Feb. 4 at 5:00 pm and arch-rival Appalachian State on Monday, Feb. 6 at 7:00 pm. During a pre-game ceremony on Monday, Western will hang all-time leading scorer, Jayne Arledge's No. 25 from the rafters in the Ramsey Center.