Box Score

WILMINGTON, N.C. - Western Carolina women's basketball used a strong second-half performance to knock off host UNC Wilmington, 64-53, in the final day of the UNCW Thanksgiving Classic Saturday at Trask Coliseum.

Western Carolina improves to 3-3 on the season while UNCW falls to 2-3.

Senior guard Justin Taylor led all scorers with 24 points, the third time this season the Gastonia, N.C. native has scored 20 or more points. It is also the sixth game on the year she has scored in double figures. In fact, dating back to the 2013-14 season, Taylor has scored in double figures in 11 consecutive games.

The Catamounts iced the contest in the last 2:22 scoring the final seven points of the game. WCU was also 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the last 32 seconds.

Trailing 35-28, at the half, Western Carolina scored 10 unanswered points to open the final 20 minutes to overtake the Seahawks. Trailing 35-34, Western Carolina took its first lead, since being up 2-0, when freshman Sherae Bonner hit a lay-up with 14:39 remaining.

UNCW would tie the game twice in in the second half, after WCU took the lead, but could never recapture the advantage. Tied at 42, freshman Ace Easter hit a jumper to put the Catamounts up 44-42 which spurred an 11-3 run for Western Carolina and all but put the game out of reach for UNCW.

Western Carolina held UNCW to 18 second-half points and the Seahawks shot an anemic 29.6 percent from the field. UNCW didn't hit a three-pointer in the second half after hitting four in the first 20 minutes.

UNCW was solid in the first half scoring 35 points. After Western Carolina scored the first field goal of the game, a lay-up by Brianne Mack, UNCW scored 10 straight points to lead 10-2.

The Seahawks twice built a 10 point lead but with 7:50 left in the first, and WCU trailing 25-15, Emily Hatfield spurred WCU when she hit a lay-up. The Catamounts went on a 12-0 run that was book-ended by Hatfield scoring when she hit a pair of free throws to slice the UNCW lead to two, 27-25, with 3:11 on the clock.

UNCW snapped WCU's scoring streak to push the lead back to three but Taylor answered with a three-pointer to make the Seahawk lead just one, 29-28. The Seahawks went on a min-run of its own to close out the first half, scoring seven consecutive points, to end the half.

It was all Western Carolina in the second half and the Catamounts also took care of the basketball. After 11 first-half turnovers, Western Carolina gave up the ball just six times in the second half.

Western Carolina shot 46.9 percent from the field, a season-high, scoring 32 points from inside the paint. The Catamounts were also prolific at the free throw line hitting 14-of-19.

Of the nine players who saw action in the game, eight got into the scoring column. After being held scoreless against EKU, junior guard Lindsay Simpson just missed scoring in double figures with nine points. Freshman Sherae Bonner added a solid six points and seven rebounds.

Brie Mobley led UNCW with 18 points.

Western Carolina returns home Dec. 3 to host North Greenville at 7 p.m. The Catamounts welcome back North Greenville Head Coach Jayne Arledge a Catamount Hall of Fame member and Western Carolina women's basketball's all-time leading scorer.