Jan. 24, 2011

Box Score

Middleton Post-Game Comments (AUDIO)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Western Carolina women's basketball (6-13, 4-6 Southern Conference) mounted a flurried comeback in the second half, before falling to Samford (14-6, 7-4 SoCon) 60-48 Monday at the Pete Hanna Center.

Trailing by 19 points at the half, 37-18, Western Carolina outscored Samford 30-23 in the second half and allowed the Bulldogs just five field goals in the final 20 minutes of the contest. The Catamounts were down by as much as 21 points to start the second half, but made the contest a game when they trimmed the Bulldog lead to five points with 2:14 left in the game.

Emily Clarke scored five straight points, in a two minute span, to slice a 10 point Samford lead to five points. Clarke had an open look at a three pointer with 1:56 left in the game, that would have cut the Bulldog lead to two, but she missed the shot.

The final minute of the game was chocked full of Western Carolina fouling the Bulldogs and sending players to the line. Samford was 9-of-10 from the free throw line in the final minute of the game. Overall, Samford shot 18-of-20 from the free throw line and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the first half.

After shooting an anemic 23.1 percent in the first half, Western Carolina clawed back in the second half, shooting a scorching 46.2 percent. The Catamounts held Samford to 27.8 shooting in the second half. After allowing seven Bulldog three pointers in the first half, WCU held Samford to just one long range shot in the second half.

Junior guard Kaila'Shea Menendez led Western Carolina with 16 points and was followed by Clarke who ended the contest with 13 points. Menendez was also a perfect 3-for-3 from the three point line.

Western Carolina returns home Saturday to host its Pink Zone game. The Catamounts welcome Elon to the Ramsey Center for a 2 p.m. tip-off.