Box Score Feb. 20, 2006
Final Stats |
Notes
Cullowhee, N.C. -
Western Carolina concluded the first half with a 14-0 run to lead by 21 at the break, then shot a sizzling 70-percent (19-of-27) from the field in the second en route to a 98-65 win over the College of Charleston Cougars Monday night in the Ramsey Center. Five Lady Catamounts scored in double-figures for the second time this season, with two additional players just missing with nine points, as WCU claimed its third-straight victory.
Western improves to 8-18 overall and 8-9 in the Southern Conference with the win and takes sole possession of fifth place, a game ahead of the sixth-place Cougars (11-15, 7-10 SoCon) with one regular season game remaining.
Sophomore Monique Dawson led the quintet of Catamounts with 18 points including three, 3-pointers and a pair of assists. Freshman-of-the-Year candidate Lauren Powell finished with 13 points, draining three treys, with sophomores Ashley Pellom and Chevon Keith adding 11 points apiece and classmate Jessika Johnson scoring 10 on 5-of-6 shooting. Keith recorded her third double-double of the year, adding a game-high 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals, with Pellom just missing the double tilt dishing out nine assists, her fourth game of the season with eight or more helpers.
A pair of Lady Cats just missed double-figures as senior Teyawna Hardy, who was playing in her final home game and was honored during pregame, and freshman Amelia Miller each tallied nine points in the win. Freshman post April Parker pulled down five defensive rebounds and scored six points, equaling the scoring total of backcourt classmate Teshymia Tillman who nailed 3-of-5 in the win. Kendra Eaton added five points and three rebounds for WCU on the night.
"This really was a team win from top to bottom," said Western Carolina head coach Kellie Harper. "You could really tell that the girls were having fun on the court and were very supportive of each other. I felt like our defense helped us get out on top early and shooting as well as we did in the second half was phenomenal. We've believed all year long that we were capable of playing the way we did tonight and we finally stepped up and showed our potential. I feel like this team is playing with confidence right now - confidence in the coaching staff and confidence in each other.
"It was also special to be able to send our lone senior, Teyawna Hardy, out with a victory in her final game in the Ramsey Center," added Harper.
Western Carolina raced out of the gates with a steal and a lay-up inside the first 20 seconds to take the early lead which it would never relinquish. Charleston would close to within one, 9-8, at the 13:44 mark of the first and that would be as close as the Cougars could get for the remainder of the contest. From the aforementioned one-point game, the Lady Catamounts embarked on a 15-to-4 run, capped by a Dawson 3-pointer, to grab a 12-point, 24-12 lead midway through the opening half.
After a CofC timeout, the Cougars were able to pull to within seven over the next four minutes, 29-22. However, Western blew the game open, holding Charleston scoreless over the last five and a half minutes of the half, closing on a 14-0 run to grab its largest lead of the game to that point, 43-22, at intermission.
At the outset of the second half, the Cougars outscored WCU 12-to-4 to slice the deficit to 15, 49-34, by the first media timeout at the 15:50 mark. Two minutes later, leading 53-38, Western would put the game well out of reach by starting a 19-to-2 spurt that spanned the next four and a half minutes and concluded with a 31-point, 72-41, lead. During the run, the Lady Catamounts shot 7-of-8 from the floor, including one 3-pointer, and 4-of-5 from the free throw line while also making three steals for four total Cougar turnovers.
Charleston managed to whittle the deficit back down to 22, 73-51, with a short-lived, 10-to-1, run of its own, but that was as close as the margin would get for the final seven minutes. Western ballooned the advantage out to a game-high 33 inside the final minute for the final tally, 98-65.
The College of Charleston, which has dropped five of its last six games, was led by sophomore Erika Smith with 13 points, just one from her career-high, while freshman Jade Hughes added 12 in the losing effort. Cougar leading scorer, Erica Irick, was held scoreless in the game, 0-for-9 from the field including 0-for-3 from 3-point range.
The 98 points for Western was a seasonal high, as was the 57.8 field goal percentage. The Lady Catamounts limited CofC to 1-of-14 shooting from 3-point range (7.1-percent) for an opponent seasonal low while also out rebounding the Cougars, 40-to-34. WCU, which entered the game 10th in the SoCon in assists, dished out yet another season-best with 22.
Western Carolina will conclude the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 25 visiting UNC Greensboro at 4:00 pm in Fleming Gymnasium. The College of Charleston will wrap up its season at Georgia Southern on the same day, tipping at 3:00 pm.
