Jan. 21, 2008

Box Score

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Kendra Eaton scored a career-high 17 points and Kristen Feemster added a career-high nine points in Western Carolina women's basketball's 77-62 win at Furman (5-14, 0-8 SoCon) Monday in Timmons Arena.

With the victory, the Lady Catamounts improved to 14-5 on the season, but more importantly, 6-1 in the Southern Conference. Western Carolina is now tied for second place with Georgia Southern, which sets up a showdown with the Eagles Saturday in Statesboro, Ga. for sole possession of second place.

Western Carolina put pressure on Furman from the first tip of the basketball and it started with the strong inside play by Eaton, who had 11 points in the first half. She ended the game with eight rebounds and was also 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

The Lady Catamounts also took care of the basketball, turning the ball over a season-low 10 times which accounted for just five Paladin points. Western Carolina forced 15 Furman turnovers and got 16 points from the Paladin miscues.

Western Carolina led from the early minutes of the game when Jessika Johnson connected on a pair of free throws to begin the contest and never trailed. The Lady Cats built as much as an 18 point lead before heading into the locker room up 42-26.

Furman came out in the second half and really pressed the Lady Cats outscoring them 36-35. Western Carolina pushed its lead to 21 with 9:40 left in the game but the Paladins refused to go quietly into the locker room. Furman went on an 18-9 run to trim WCU's lead to just 10, 70-60, with 3:28 remaining. A pair of free throws by Eaton, which gave her a new career-high, and a three point play by Chevon Keith moved the Lady Catamount advantage back to 15 and Furman never got any closer.

Keith was the only other Lady Catamount to score in double figures with 11 points and also tied her career-high with six assists. Johnson had a balanced game with nine points and seven rebounds.

It was the fourth straight game that all 10 players got into the scoring column for Western Carolina. All five starters also played 20 plus minutes in the contest.

Western Carolina puts its six game winning streak and four game road winning streak to the test Saturday at Georgia Southern. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.

HEAD COACH Kellie Harper QUOTES:

"I thought our players really got after Furman defensively, especially in the first half. We didn't have that same intensity in the second half, but I was trying to put a few things in we have been working on. We just had a few mental breakdowns in the second half defensively. Overall it was a good win and we will find a lot of good things in the game and few things to work on. All the players, especially the young ones, are getting valuable experience. I am really proud of Kendra Eaton - I thought she did a really nice job to start the first half. I thought she set the tone and just dominated the glass."