Feb. 19, 2007

Final Stats

Charleston, S.C. - Sophomore Brooke Johnson led a trio of Lady Catamounts in double figures on Monday night as Western Carolina captured its 20th win of the season, 80-59, over the College of Charleston at the John Kresse Arena sending the host Cougars to their eighth-straight loss. The win keeps WCU in a first-place tie with Chattanooga, which downed Georgia Southern, 65-52, in Statesboro, Ga.

With its' third-straight win over the College of Charleston, Western secured its third 20-win season in the program's 42-year history and just its second since becoming a NCAA Division I program.

Western Carolina can now clinch at least a share its' first-ever SoCon regular season title this Saturday, Feb. 24, when it hosts UNC Greensboro at 4:00 pm in the Ramsey Center. Elsewhere, Chattanooga hosts the surprising Wofford Terriers at 5:00 pm at the McKenzie Arena.

WCU will earn the number one seed in the upcoming SoCon tournament and at least a share of the regular season title with a win over the Spartans, a team it downed by one, 53-52, earlier this season on the road. A Western win coupled with a UTC loss would give Western the regular season crown and top seed outright.

Johnson connected on 7-of-10 from the field, including both of her 3-point attempts, to lead all scorers with 18 points off the bench. Her classmate, Lauren Powell, added 16 points including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. Junior Monique Dawson turned in an all-around solid performance, scoring 14 points with a career-high six assists and five steals in 26 minutes of action.

Junior Ashley Pellom just missed double figures with eight points, while freshman Heather Swayne tied her career-high with a team-best six rebounds, also chipping in six points and a pair of assists.

Western (20-8, 14-3 SoCon) appeared to be firing on all cylinders early in the first half, pulling out to a 16-point, 30-14, with 6:11 to go before intermission. However, Charleston found its shooting touch, outscoring the Lady Catamounts 17-to-6 the remainder of the half to slice the deficit down to five, 36-31, at the break.

WCU turned 12 Cougar turnovers into 18 first half points, shooting 46.7-percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes. CofC managed to shoot 44.4-percent (12-of-27) in the first, scoring eight points off WCU's six turnovers.

Out of the halftime locker room, the Lady Catamounts pounced on the Cougars with a 14-to-0 run transforming a five-point lead into a 19-point cushion, 50-31, with 14:51 remaining in regulation. Charleston was able to cut the deficit to 13 at 54-41 with 10:42 to play, but Western out scored the Cougs, 36-to-18 down the stretch to cruise to the 21-point, 80-59 win.

The College of Charleston (10-18, 5-12 SoCon) put two in double figures in the loss as sophomore Jade Hughes finished with 16 points and three assists and Deidra Jones tallied 10 on 4-of-5 shooting and a team-high seven rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end.

Western Carolina shot well in the second half as well, posting 50.0 percent from the field, compared to 31.3 percent for the Cougars. The Catamounts finished the game 27-of-56 (48.2%), while Charleston fell off in the second half (31.3%) shot finish at 37.3-percent (22-of-59). The opportunistic Cats scored 36 points off of 23 Charleston turnovers.

Saturday's game between Western and UNC Greensboro will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network and can be heard online in Western North Carolina on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee. Air time is set for 3:45 pm with tip-off slated for 4:00 pm.