Dec. 16, 2008

Box Score

HARPER AND FEEMSTER POSTGAME INTERVIEW ON CATAMOUNT TRACKS PODCAST

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Junior forward Kristen Feemster recorded her first career double-double and Western Carolina women's basketball picked up its first road win of the season, with a 91-66 Southern Conference victory over Wofford, Tuesday in the Benjamin Johnson Center. The Lady Catamounts improve to 4-5 and even their SoCon record to 1-1 while Wofford falls to 1-8 and 0-3 in the conference.

Feemster had a big game, coming off the bench to score a career-high 13 points and tie her career-high with 11 rebounds. She scored nine of her points in the first half.

Senior center Brooke Johnson led all scorers with 19 points and just missed a double-double of her own with nine rebounds. Fellow senior Lauren Powell was the third Lady Catamount to score in double figures with 12 points. In the game, all 12 Western Carolina players saw action and everyone got in the scoring column.

Western Carolina opened the game slow trailing early, 2-0, and tied the game at four before going on a 22-4 run, in a seven minute span, that was capped off by a three-pointer by Johnson - who was 2-of-2 from the three-point line and has hit two or more treys in her last two games.

Both Wofford and Western Carolina traded baskets mid-way through the first half before the Lady Catamounts went on a bit of a scoring drought. Leading by 20, 40-20, with 4:40 left, Wofford went on a 14-4 scoring spurt to cut the WCU lead to 10, 44-34, with 1:26 left in the half. A free throw by freshman Kalia'Shea Menendez and a three-pointer by Lauren Powell pushed the Lady Catamount lead back to 14 and with one made free throw by Wofford's Kate Dempsy, the Terriers trailed by 13, 48-35, heading into the locker room.

Johnson opened the second half with a quick lay-up to push the Western Carolina lead back to 15, and that proved to be the smallest margin in the Lady Catamount's lead the rest of the game. Western Carolina built its largest lead of the game of 27, 82-55, with 5:10 remaining in the game with a jumper by Kendra Carroll.

In the final six minutes of the game, Head Coach Kellie Harper let the youth of the team rule the court as she subbed in the four Lady Catamount freshmen: Menendez, Brittany Ferguson, Diamond Hunnicutt and TT Belcher who played along side sophomore Carroll.

Ferguson's six minutes of play to close out the game yielded seven points for the Macon, Ga. native who was 3-for-3 from the field and 1-of-2 from the free throw line. She also had a pair of rebounds and a steal.

Western Carolina nearly doubled Wofford in the rebounding column, crashing the boards for a season-high 54 rebounds and only giving up 35 to the Terriers. The Lady Catamounts scored 40 of their points in the paint and got 45 points from the bench.

Western Carolina returns to action Friday to host College of Charleston at 7 p.m. in the Ramsey Center. It is the first of a three-game home stand for the Lady Catamounts to close out 2008.

NOTES: Junior Heather Swayne picked up her first start of the season and second of her career ... Johnson has now led the team in scoring in her last two outings ... Belcher pulled down a career-high eight rebounds ... Western Carolina's 91 points is the most scored by the team this season ... The 49.3 field goal shooting percentage is also a season-high ... The club's 50 percent shooting percentage from three-point range is a season-high as well.