Feb. 4, 2007

Final Stats

Davidson, N.C. - Western Carolina sophomore Lauren Powell scored a game-high 21 points, including 15 from beyond the 3-point arc, as the Lady Catamounts claimed their eighth-straight win, 67-56, over the Davidson Wildcats Saturday evening at the Belk Arena. The win moved WCU into a two-way tie atop the Southern Conference standings with Chattanooga which defeated Appalachian State on Thursday night at home.

Western (16-7, 10-2 SoCon) drained a season-high 10 3-pointers, seven of which came during the opening 20 minutes, as the Lady Catamounts snapped a three-game winless drought against Davidson.

"We came out strong and shot the ball very well in the first half, building ourselves a good lead. Lauren Powell finally started lighting it up beyond the 3-point arc, and that is something that will make our us a better basketball team," said Western Carolina head coach Kellie Harper. "Davidson is a very good basketball team and we knew the game would not be over until the final horn. We knew that they were going to make a run. But overall, I am extremely proud of the team's performance tonight. Everyone contributed to this win."

Junior Monique Dawson joined Powell in double figures, connecting on three treys and 4-of-8 from the free throw line for 13 points. Dawson and classmate Chevon Keith each recorded a team-high nine rebounds with Keith also posting nine points and four assists. Sophomore Brooke Johnson tied her WCU career-high with four blocked shots to move into sole possession of seventh on Western's single-season record book while junior Ashley Pellom took control of eighth on the career assists chart.

Scoring its first three baskets from beyond the 3-point arc, Western erased an early four-point deficit to take the lead for good on Powell's second trifecta of the contest at the 14:50 mark of the first half. The Lady Catamounts proceeded to score 27 of the next 39 points in the game to push ahead by 17, 33-16, and managed a 15-point advantage at intermission, 41-26.

An 8-3 spurt over the first six and a half minutes out of the halftime locker room, capped by a free throw from Kendra Eaton, gave Western its largest lead of the contest of 22 points at 51-29. However, the Wildcats mounted a 22-to-5 run, including a string of nine-straight points, to slice the Lady Catamounts' lead to eight, 56-48, with three and a half to play.

With all the momentum swinging the way of the Wildcats, Powell canned her fifth 3-pointer of the day with 3:14 to play to push the lead back to double-digits and the Lady Catamounts hit 4-of-6 from the charity stripe inside the final 45 seconds to stave off the Wildcat challenge and secure the win.

Davidson (18-5, 9-3 SoCon) had three players reach double-digits led by 12 from both Julia Paquette and Danielle Hemerka and Jessica Mitchell chipping in 11. Wildcats' leading scorer Katie Hamilton was held to two points on just 1-of-9 shooting.

Western returns to action on Monday night when it visits arch-rival Appalachian State at 7:00 pm in Boone, N.C. The game will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network and will be available on-line at www.CatamountSports.com.