March 7, 2014

Box Score |   

Asheville, N..C. -  No. 7 seed Western Carolina women's basketball (14-16) shot a scorching season-high 51 percent from the field powering past No. 10 seed UNCG (7-23) 77-60 in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament in Kimmel Arena Friday.

The Catamount will face No. 2 seed Furman at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the quarter-finals of the SoCon Tournament. The game can be heard on catamountsports.com and seen on SoCon TV at soconsports.com.

Senior guard Rena Wakama, who ended the game with 12 points, set the tone by scoring the first eight points for Western Carolina. The Catamounts' first two made baskets were three-pointers, to open the game. Western Carolina would go on to connect on 10 three-pointers in the contest, just one three-pointer shy of tying the school record, 11, for three-pointers in a game.

Tied at eight, junior guard Justin Taylorcame into the game and drained a three-pointer to push the Catamount lead to three, 11-8. Although UNCG would hang around the Spartans would trail the remainder of the contest.

As for Taylor, her three-pointer to give WCU the lead, early in the first half, would spur the Gastonia, N.C. native to score 21 points. It was the third time this season she has scored 20 or more points. Overall, Taylor was 6-of-8 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the three point line. Taylor was also solid at the free throw line hitting 5-for-5.

Western Carolina ended the first half shooting a high-octane 57.7 percent from the field and 60 percent from behind the three point line. The Catamounts led 37-27 at the half.

UNCG came out in the second half and trimmed the Catamounts' 10 point half-time lead to four, 39-35, outscoring WCU 8-2 in the first four minutes of the second half.

After starting out slow in the second half, the Catamounts kicked it back in gear pushing its advantage back to double digits with Taylor scoring seven of the Catamounts' nine points, in a two minute stretch, to push its lead to 11, 48-37.

The run to push the Catamounts' into a double digit lead spurred the Catamounts to outscore the Spartans 14-4, in a four minute interval, to put the game away.

Western Carolina held UNCG to 34.4 percent shooting from the field. The Spartans outrebounded the Catamounts' 38-32 but Western Carolina hit 28 field goals in the game to counter-act the rebounds. The Catamounts had 11 steals in the game and got 42 points from their bench.