Jan. 7, 2012

Box Score |   

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's basketball (6-8, 1-4 SoCon) picked up its first Southern Conference victory of the season with a 62-29 victory over UNCG(2-11, 1-4 SoCon) Saturday in the Ramsey Center.

The Catamounts held the Spartans to just 22.6 percent shooting and 15 points in the first half and 14 in the second half. Western Carolina shot 49.1 percent for the game, scoring 36 second half points. The 29 points scored by UNCG is the least amount of points WCU has allowed an opponent this season.

Senior guard Kaila'Shea Menendez led all scorers with 20 points, going 8-for-10 from the field and nailing one three pointer. Freshman guard Makensey Campbell followed up her career-high 18 point scoring performance, against USC Upstate, with a defensive outing, ripping down a career-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Rena Wakama added 13 points.

It was a tight game early going, with each team enjoying a one or two point lead in the first 10 minutes of the first half. Leading by one, 12-11, Western Carolina began to widen the game after Menendez hit a jumper at the 8:10 mark to make the score 14-11.

The Menendez basket jump started the Catamounts as they went on a 12-0 run, in a seven minute span, expand its lead to 13, 26-13 with 1:51 left. UNCG scored before the half, a jumper by Natalie Headley, to make the score 26-15 at the break.

The second half was all Western Carolina all the time. Though the Catamounts hit a bit of a scoring lull, in the middle of the second half, WCU opened the final 20 minutes of the game with a scoring frenzy.

Western Carolina built a 25-point lead, to open the second half, by scoring 12 straight points on UNCG. The Spartans, meanwhile, were held scoreless for the first six plus minutes of the second half. Ironically it was Headley who hit the lay-up for UNCG, the same player who scored just before the half for the Spartans.

The remaining 13 minutes of the game was all Western Carolina. In the second half, WCU shot 50 percent from the field and hit three of its five three pointers in the game.

Western Carolina doubled up UNCG on the glass pulling down 42 boards to the Spartans 29.

The Catamounts host SoCon foe Furman at 7 p.m. Monday to complete its two-game home stand.