Dec. 2, 2007

Box Score

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Prolific free throw shooting and a strong presence on the boards pushed Western Carolina women's basketball (5-1) past Middle Tennessee (3-3), 77-71, Sunday in the Murphy Center. Junior Brooke Johnson tallied her second double- double of the season with 12 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.

It was a nip and tuck game all afternoon but it was the Lady Catamounts cool and calm performance at the charity stripe that was the difference in the game. Western Carolina was 16-of-23 from the free throw line in the second half and 25-of-35 for the game.

Free throws were the key down the stretch, as WCU clung to a three point lead, 70-67 with 4:18 remaining. The Lady Catamounts didn't connect on a field goal in the final four minutes but Middle Tennessee put Western Carolina on the line, thanks to fouls, 10 times and WCU players drained seven. The clutch free throw shooting kept the Blue Raiders at bay as the club only hit two field goals in that four minute span.

As crucial as the production at the charity stripe was, the other glaring stat came from Western Carolina's rebounding advantage. The Lady Catamounts doubled up the Blue Raiders on the glass pulling down 53 rebounds to Middle Tennessee's 27.

It was a tight game through out the first half. Western Carolina led by as much as nine points in the first 20 minutes before Middle Tennessee made a run near the end of the half. The lead changed five times in the first half and the score was tied six times. Perhaps the biggest tie came in the final five seconds when Lauren Powell hit a jumper to tie the game at 37 going into the locker room.

The second half was a true battle on the court. Both teams traded baskets early in the second half and after the 13th tie of the game, 54-54, Middle Tennessee built a four point lead with 10:51 remaining. Western Carolina battled back and took a one point lead thanks to a jumper by Kristen Feemster and Powell expanded the lead with a huge three-pointer from the right side to give the Lady Catamounts a 62-58 advantage.

Middle Tennessee would pull within one, 62-61, with 7:13 remaining but would never tie or retake the lead for the remainder of the game. Western Carolina had as much as a seven point lead in the final four minutes and relied on their free throw shooting to clinch the win.

Including Johnson's 12 points there were three Lady Catamounts who scored in double figures in the contest. Powell had a season-high 17 points and Monique Dawson had 14, with 12 of her points coming from a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. Senior Chevon Keith pulled down 11 rebounds, the fourth time in six games she has had a double figure rebounding performance.

Western Carolina returns home on Saturday December 8 to host Wake Forest. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. in the Ramsey Center.

NOTES:

ENDING MIDDLE TENNESSE'S HOME WIN STREAK: Middle Tennessee had won 14 straight home games, dating back to last season, prior to the Blue Raider's loss to Western Carolina on Sunday.

SECOND VICTORY OVER TEAM RECEIVING VOTES: Western Carolina has two wins over teams who were receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll. The Lady Catamounts defeated No. 22 Louisville on November 17 and with the win over Middle Tennessee, WCU downed a Blue Raider club receiving 10 points in the poll.

POWELL MOVES UP IN THREES: With three 3-pointers made against Middle Tennessee, junior Lauren Powell now has 126 three-pointers in her career and moves into second place in the WCU record books.

BROOKE BLOCKING IT: Junior Brooke Johnson had two blocks against Middle Tennessee. She has now blocked at least one shot in five of the first six games of the season. Johnson now has 68 blocks in her career and needs just two to move into fifth place in the WCU record books.

BEST START IN FIVE YEARS: Western Carolina's 5-1 start is the best for the Lady Catamounts since 2002.

HEAD COACH Kellie Harper QUOTES:

"This is a huge win. Middle Tennessee does not make you play pretty. There are not many teas that come into this gym and win. This is a tough environment and the way they make you play makes playing here a huge challenge but our players never stopped fighting. I went into the locker room and I said I knew it wasn't pretty but I was proud of the effort. This team didn't have any quit in them and found a way to win."

OUTREOUNDING MIDDLE TENNESSEE:

"The rebounding advantage was the difference in the game. You can't let them get as many offensive boards as you - you just have to crash the boards. We had too many turnovers so you have to find a way to score by getting second chance points and getting defensive rebounds to keep them from scoring."

ON WINNING A CLOSE GAME ON THE ROAD:

"Anytime you can come in here and get a win that's a good thing. It's a tough environment to play in. They're well-coached and they're going to be a solid team this year. This is a good win for us."

ON THE TEMPO OF THE GAME:

"The pace of the game was definitely dictated by Middle Tennessee. We knew it was going to be an ugly game. We have a tendency at times to turn the ball over and we knew that their pressure could cause some turnovers. We still had more than I wanted to have. It wasn't pretty, to be honest. I didn't think it was going to be a pretty game, watching them on tape and knowing how we play. I knew it was just going to be a grind."

KEYS TO THE VICTORY:

"You can look at so many things in a close basketball game and say they were determining factors. We made our free throws down the stretch, and they probably didn't shoot the ball from the perimeter as well as they are capable of."

JUNIOR GUARD Lauren Powell:

"We knew coming into the second half, with the game tied, we had to stay poised. We had 15 turnovers at halftime and if we had that many in the second half we knew we weren't going to win the game."