Feb. 13, 2010

Box Score

ELON, N.C. - Sophomore forward Caitlin Hollifield's double-double, a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, helped pace Western Carolina women's basketball (5-20, 4-12 SoCon) to a 75-48 win at Elon (10-16, 5-12 SoCon) Saturday in the Alumni Gym.

Western Carolina didn't allow Elon to hit a three-pointer in the game, as the Phoenix went 0-for-13 from behind the three point arch. The Catamounts also forced 26 Phoenix turnovers, scoring 23 points off their miscues.

Hollifield's 1-of-2 free throws, in the first two minutes of the game, gave Western Carolina a 3-2 lead and the Catamounts never trailed to Elon again. The Phoenix hit the first field goal of the game, a lay-up by Tiffany Davis, for the early 2-0 lead but never topped the Catamounts in the final 39 minutes.

The Catamounts built its first double figure lead, of the first half, when sophomore Kaila'Shea Menendez hit her second three-point basket of the game, with 10:20 left to make the score 21-11. Menendez came off the bench to post a game-leading 20 points in the contest, hitting two of Western Carolina's six three-pointers in the game.

Elon cut the Catamount lead to six points with 1:01 left in the first half, when Urysla Cotton hit one of two free throws. Western Carolina answered with back-to-back lay-ups by Hollifield and Menendez to push the Catamount lead to 10, 37-27, at the half.

In the second half, Elon scored the first field goal of the second 20 minutes, to cut the lead to eight, and didn't hit another bucket for the next 10 minutes of the game. In that span, Western Carolina went on a 16-6 run to build a 20-point advantage, 53-33. A pair of field goals by Hollifield and a three-pointer by Emily Clarke helped push the lead to 20.

The Catamounts cruised the final nine minutes of the game, building its largest lead of the game, 29 points 75-46, in the final minute of the game. Western Carolina got 34 points off its bench and 26 points in the paint.

Clarke was the third player to score in double figures for the Catamounts with 13 points. All 10 Western Carolina players saw action and got into the scoring column.

The road win is the second in the last three games for Western Carolina, as the club defeated Furman 69-39 on February 6. The 27-point victory is the second largest of the season for the Catamounts.

Western Carolina will begin a three-game home stand on Tuesday hosting UNC Greensboro. The game is scheduled for Noon as part of Western Carolina Athletics' Education Day.