Feb. 12, 2007

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina junior guard Chevon Keith beat the second half buzzer with a runner from three feet out to knot the game at 70 and force overtime. Georgia Southern used a 6-to-1 spurt in the extra session to pull ahead by five, but it was not until two WCU turnovers inside the final eight seconds sealed the deal in the Eagles' 83-81 upset win over the top-ranked Lady Catamounts Monday night in the Ramsey Center.

Trailing by five with 37 seconds remaining in OT, junior Ashley Pellom sliced through the lane and laid one off the glass to cut the deficit to three, 82-79. After back-to-back free throw misses by GSU's Ashley Rivens, who finished with 20 points on the day, Western junior Monique Dawson knocked down a pair from the charity stripe to close to within one, and then stole the inbounds pass to give WCU the ball with 11 ticks showing. Yet, a pass in the paint was stolen away by the Eagles' Christa Waterman ending Western's first chance.

GSU freshman Carolyn Whitney hit 1-of-2 from the foul line. On the ensuing possession, WCU pushed the ball quickly up the floor, but Waterman stepped in front of Pellom, who again cut through the lane, drawing the charge and icing the victory.

Western (18-8, 12-3 SoCon) saw its 10-game winning streak snapped and slid back into a two-way tie for first with Chattanooga, who downed Furman, 64-48, in Greenville. The loss also marked the first time this season that WCU had surpassed the 70-point plateau and not won (11-1).

Keith posted her fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds adding four steals and three assists. Sophomore Brooke Johnson posted Western's team-high with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting and eight free throws. The Seymour, Tenn., native added seven boards and an assist and blocked shot. Rounding out Western's double-digit scorers was sophomore Lauren Powell with 13, including 3-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc, with Dawson scoring 10 with five assists. Eaton finished with seven points and four boards.

Georgia Southern (10-16, 5-10 SoCon) put three in double figures with two eclipsing the 20-point plateau. Junior guard Tiffany Brown joined Rivens with 21 points on 9-of-20 shooting. Whitney finished with 11 points in the win with Chequilla Jessie leading GSU with 10 rebounds.

Slow out of the gates, Western fell behind early as GSU opened the game with a 20-to-6 run over the first eight minutes to surge ahead by 14. The Lady Catamounts recovered, however, and retaliated with 13-unanswered points to slice the deficit to one, 20-19, five minutes later. Western took just its second lead of the contest, 25-23, on a jumper by Keith with 3:12 to play before intermission and pulled out to a four-point advantage, 29-25, on a transition lay-up by Kendra Eaton from freshman Heather Swayne. Yet, the Eagles closed the opening 20 minutes with eight-straight points to lead by four, 33-29, at the break.

Neither team could assume control out of the halftime locker room as the lead swayed back-and-forth between and endured six ties over the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza. The Lady Catamounts were finally able to open some breathing room with a small 8-to-2 spurt, transforming a one-point, 53-52, lead into a seven-point advantage, 61-54. But Georgia Southern returned fire, outscoring WCU 13-to-6 to force the seventh tie of the half, 67-67, with 2:04 to play.

GSU's Brown broke the game's 10th tie, converting a Shawnda Atwood steal into a lay-up with four seconds to play to seemingly seal the deal for the Eagles. However, on the ensuing possession, Western hurled the ball up the court to mid-court where head coach Kellie Harper quickly called a timeout. After the stoppage, Western, in-bounding the ball from just inside the front court near the mid-court stripe, lobbed the ball towards the paint where Keith caught the pass and put up a runner that circled the cylinder as time expired, forcing overtime. For one of the few occasions this season, Western was dominated on the boards by Georgia Southern as the Eagles held a commanding 52-to-37 edge, including 27 offensive rebounds.

Western returns to action this Saturday, Feb. 17, in the doubleheader fashion. The Lady Catamounts host Furman at 4:00 pm in the first of two games in the Ramsey Center, while the men entertain Davidson at 7:00 pm. WCU has taken five-straight - and seven of the last eight - from the Lady Paladins.

Both games on Saturday will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network and can be heard across Western North Carolina on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee. Fans can also access streaming audio and live Game Tracker, presented by WestCare, by visiting www.CatamountSports.com.