Feb. 16, 2008

Box Score

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina's 87-65 win over Wofford, Saturday in the Ramsey Center, was an historic one for the Lady Catamounts. The club recorded its 20th win of the season - the first time in school history a women's basketball team has put together back-to-back 20-win seasons. The Lady Catamounts improve to 20-6 and 12-2 in Southern Conference games, while Wofford falls to 9-15 and 2-11 in the SoCon.

It was all about keeping pace and keeping a streak alive on Saturday for Western Carolina. The Lady Catamounts tied their season-high for consecutive wins at six straight and also won their sixth straight at home. The 12-2 mark in the Southern Conference keeps Western Carolina in a tie for second place with Georgia Southern which also has the same record in conference play.

Western Carolina found itself in a dog and cat fight with the Terriers in the first half. The score was tied nine times and the lead changed eight times before Western Carolina built a slight advantage in the final minutes of the opening frame.

Tied at 28 with 53 seconds left in the first half, junior Kendra Eaton hit one of two free throws to give Western Carolina the lead. The Lady Catamounts pushed the lead to three, 31-28, when Chevon Keith pulled down an offensive rebound and tipped the ball in with 32 seconds remaining. Wofford attempted to cut the lead to one point but Kate Dempsey missed a lay-up with nine seconds left and Keith got the rebound to end the half.

It was still nip and tuck to start the second half. Western Carolina built an early five point lead when Jessika Johnson hit a lay-up to start the final 20 minutes of the game. Wofford answered with a jumper by Kathlyn Varno to cut the lead back down to two, 33-30.

Wofford would take the lead two more times before Western Carolina took it back for good. With the Terriers up by one point, 40-39, Lady Catamount Kristen Feemster picked up a steal and sophomore Heather Swayne converted with a lay-up for the one point lead, 41-40. Western Carolina would never trail again.

Western Carolina was holding on to a tenuous 54-50 lead when the Lady Catamounts exploded. The club went on a 12-1 run to pull away from the Terriers. Western Carolina was 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the scoring run and also had huge baskets from Keith, Lauren Powell and Kendra Carroll.

Wofford still battled and got a lift from Dempsey when she hit a jumper with 5:22 remaining to cut the lead to 13, 66-53. The momentum killer came from Lady Catamount freshman Emily Clarke who hit a three pointer at the top of the key, off an assist by Keith, to push the Lady Catamount lead to 16.

Western Carolina's second-half explosion can be credited to shooting a scorching 53.7 percent from the field and scoring 56 second-half points. Wofford shot just 34.2 percent in the second half and scored 37 points.

Clarke led the Lady Catamounts with 14 points, the second time in the last three games she has scored in double figures. Junior Lauren Powell was impressive with short-range jumpers which netted her 13 points in the game, as she hit just one three-pointer and was 6-of-13 from the field. Freshman Heather Swayne scored in double figures for the second straight game ending the contest with 11 points and senior Ashley Pellom scored in double figures for the third consecutive game adding 10 points.

Career-highs were also prevalent in the game for a pair of Lady Catamounts. Senior guard Monique Dawson dished out a career-high eight assists while Feemster pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds. Wofford also got a career-high performance from Mahogony Williams who pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds

Western Carolina returns to action Monday when the Lady Catamounts host Furman. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in the Ramsey Center.

HEAD COACH Kellie Harper QUOTES:

"Getting to 20 wins is a huge accomplishment for our players, and I am very proud of them. We know our program is on the right track. We were a little sloppy on the offensive end, in the first half, we weren't very fluid. I think finally we wore them down in the second half - they got tired and we kept going. I think that is the reason we are more successful at the end of the game because we do play a lot of people. I thought we came out and executed better in the second half and that's going to make you play better. Emily Clarke gives us such a great option. They have a big post on her and she takes them off the dribble. They put a guard on Emily and she posts them up. I love her versatility and she gives us so many options on the court."