Jan. 13, 2007

Final Stats

Chattanooga, Tenn. - Western Carolina erased a six-point deficit over the final four minutes to force overtime, then outscored the home standing Chattanooga Lady Mocs 11-to-3 in the extra session to knock off the defending champion, 80-72, on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,528 at the McKenzie Arena.

The win for Western (10-7, 4-2 SoCon) snapped an eight-game losing skid to the Lady Mocs and was just the fourth victory all-time in Chattanooga. WCU also moved to 2-0 in overtime games this season with the other instance coming against Weber State. Chattanooga, which has dropped back-to-back home games for the first time sine 1999, lost just its third home conference game since 2002, with two of the defeats coming at the hands of the Lady Catamounts.

"This is the biggest win in our program to be able to win in here," said WCU head coach Kellie Harper. "I have seen it time and time again, teams come in here and play tough but not be able to get it done. I am so proud of our team - they never gave up today. This feels great."

Five Lady Catamounts scored in double figures led by junior Monique Dawson, who tied her career-high with 24 points. Her classmates, Ashley Pellom and Chevon Keith, added 13 and 11, respectively, with Pellom dishing out six assists. Sophomore Lauren Powell scored a dozen, including two 3-pointers, with Brooke Johnson chipping in 10 points. Dawson, Keith, and junior Jessika Johnson each recorded a team-high six rebounds for WCU in the win.

Western trailed by as many as 14 in the first half, but managed to close the halftime deficit to four, 37-33, with a 12-to-4 run over the final four minutes of the opening 20 minutes. Out of the halftime locker room, UTC pushed the lead back to 10, 48-38, before a 12-0 Western Carolina run gave the Lady Catamounts their first lead of the game, 50-48.

The tide of the game swayed back-and-forth with neither team managing more than a four-point edge until Chattanooga opened its advantage to six, 67-61, at the 4:15 mark. Western proceeded to outscore UTC 8-to-2 the remainder of the game, including a lay-up by Brooke Johnson which tied the score at 69 with 32 seconds to play. With four seconds difference between the game and shot clock, the Lady Mocs attempted to hold for the last shot but Western's defense forced a turnover on a shot clock violation. WCU's last chance to win the game in regulation came when Pellom took the inbounds pass, drove the length of the floor but her off-balance runner from the right wing just came up short.

In overtime, Chattanooga proceeded to pound the ball inside to junior Alex Anderson, who finished with a career-high 34 points, taking a three-point, 72-69, lead with four and a half to play. However, that was the final bucket for UTC the remainder of the game as Western scored the final 11 points en route to the win.

Chattanooga (11-6, 4-2 SoCon) was paced by a career-high 34 points from junior Alex Anderson, which was the first time a Lady Moc had scored 30+ since 2001. Anderson finished with her 10th double-double of the season, adding a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior Laura Hall added 13 in the loss, nine coming in the first half.

On the day, Western shot a season-best 92.9-percent from the free throw line and blocked seven shots. UTC struggled from the floor in overtime, shooting 1-for-7 (14.3-percent) and only managed 3-for-20 shooting (15-percent) from beyond the 3-point arc, its lowest outing this season.

Western returns to action on Monday night in Statesboro, Ga., against the Georgia Southern Lady Eagles. Unfortunately, there will not be coverage by the Catamount Sports Network. However, Fans can follow the action live on-line at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com. Just click on the "Free Live Audio..." link at the top of the page, then click on "women's basketball."