CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball, as the No. 8 seed, begins to play in the 2020 Ingles Southern Conference Tournament presented by General Shale Thursday facing No. 1 seed Samford at 11 a.m. at the Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Catamount Sports Network on catamountsports.com.
 
AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE CATAMOUNTS:
 

• Western Carolina and Samford meet for the 27th time and for the second time in five days. The two teams closed out the regular season against each other Feb. 29 with the Bulldogs coming away with a 70-54 win to earn a share of the SoCon regular-season crown. The Bulldogs hold an overall record of 22-4 against the Catamounts and have won the last 13 against WCU. WCU's last win over Samford came back in 2014 with a 54-50 win at home. This will be the third meeting between the two schools in the tournament with each winning one game. Samford won in the second round in 2011 while WCU won in the second round in 2009 on the team's run to a SoCon Tournament victory.  
• Western Carolina had three players honored with postseason awards. Rookies Andrea Martin Ruiz and Alyssa Walker were each named to the Coaches' All-Freshman team while Martin Ruiz was also named to the Media's All-Freshman Team. This is the first time in program history the Catamounts have had two players on the Coaches' All-Freshman Team. Sophomore Jewel Smalls was named to the Media's All-Conference Third Team. It is the second-straight year Smalls has been named to the Media All-Conference Third Team. Smalls becomes the first Catamount to get back-to-back all-conference honors since Jennifer Gardner in 2002-03 and 2003-04. It marks the first time since 2005 three or more Catamounts have been honored with postseason all-conference awards. 
• Though it seems minuscule, Western Carolina women's basketball has improved greatly under first-year Head Coach Kiley Hill. After going winless in SoCon play in the 2018-19 season and only winning one conference game in the 2017-18 season, this year's team won two conference games and set records with the wins. The Catamounts conference win at home over Mercer was the first-ever win against the Bears. WCU's road win at Chattanooga snapped a 21-game losing streak to the Mocs and was the first win at Chattanooga since 2009. Three of the five returning players saw a boost in their points scored and it just so happens those three are the top three scorers for the Catamounts: Jewel Smalls (12.3 ppg), Lauren LaPlant (12 ppg) and Tembre Moates (8.4 ppg). It was also under Hill's watch LaPlant broke the single-season record for most three-pointers and the team also broke the program record for most three-pointers in a season. 
• This is the third-straight year Western Carolina will be the eighth seed in the SoCon Tournament. The Catamounts are 0-5 in the first round of the tournament over the last five years. The last time the Catamounts won a first-round game was in the 2013-14 season when WCU was the No. 7 seed and defeated No. 10 seed UNCG 77-60. That Catamount team went on to win the quarterfinal game against No. 2 Furman 75-70 before falling to No. 3 seed Davidson 74-67 in the semi-finals. 
• Western Carolina's 621 made field goals on the season ranks tied for 23rd in the WCU record books. 
• The Catamounts' 400 team assists on the season rank tied for fourth in the WCU record books. 

 
 
AN INSIDE LOOK AT SAMFORD:
 

• Samford earned its first regular-season title with a three-way tie for first place with UNCG and Chattanooga. Based on tie-breakers Samford earned the No. 1 seed.
• Head Coach Karley Kuhns was named the Media's Co-Coach of the Year. All told, Samford had four players earned conference preseason honors. Natalie Armstrong and Sarah Myers were named first-team All-SoCon by both the coaches and media, also the media named Charity Brown third team All-SoCon, and the coaches named Shauntai Battle to the all-defensive team. 
• Samford ended the regular season with a mark of 15-14 overall and 10-4 in SoCon play.
• The Bulldogs have two players averaging in double figures: Armstrong (14.4) and Myers (13.9). 

Tickets are available through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office, located on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, online at catamountsports.com or by phone at 800-34-GOWCU.
 
For all the updates on Catamount women's basketball follow @catamounts (Twitter) for in-game updates and full recaps please follow or go to www.catamountsports.com.