CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball closes out its four-game, nine-day road swing on Wednesday afternoon in Durham against N.C. Central. The midday, pre-Thanksgiving holiday matchup with the Eagles will take place at McDougald-McLendon Arena and is slated for a 1 p.m. tip-off. The game will be broadcast on NCCUSN and live stats are available at CatamountSports.com.
Matchup: Western Carolina (2-3) at N.C. Central (2-2)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 22
Time: 1 p.m.
Site: McDougald-McLendon Arena (Durham, N.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: NCCUSN
Twitter: @CatamountWBB
Western Carolina finishes off its busy road stretch on Wednesday looking to bounce back following a 70-52 defeat on Saturday at Campbell. Senior Zanoria Cruz led the Catamounts with 13 points as graduate student Lonasia Brewer added 11 and freshman Tyja Beans tallied 10 points and seven rebounds.
Junior Jada Burton continues to sit among the league leaders in assists (25) and assist/turnover ratio (1.6). Burton is also fourth in steals with nine and Chelsea Wooten sits fifth with eight on the year. As a team, WCU leads the SoCon in assists (74), ranks first in blocks (16), tops in steals (43), and is second in defensive rebounds (121).
NCCU sits with a 2-2 record after earning an 83-50 win over Johnson & Wales on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles also tallied a win over Mid-Atlantic Christian (132-22) while suffering defeats at Washington (39-113) and at SoCon foe Wofford (52-82) to open the 2023-24 season.
Kimeira Burks, a preseason All-MEAC selection, leads the Eagles on the offensive end thus far averaging 19 points per game as she's connected on a team-high 18 3-pointers. Kyla Bryant has added 14.8 points per game thus far with Jada Tiggett (10.0 ppg) and Janiah Jones (9.8 ppg) at or on the cusp of averaging double-digit scoring.
NC Central finished the 2022-23 season with a 15-16 record which included an 8-6 record in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference or MEAC. The Eagles fell in the conference tournament semifinals to eventual champion Norfolk State. The Eagles were tabbed sixth in the MEAC Preseason Poll under the direction of interim head coach Terrence Baxter. Burks was named to the league's preseason all-conference team announced before the start of the 2023-24 season.
WCU and NCCU have met six prior times with both teams earning wins in three of the matchups. The Eagles have claimed each of the prior three meetings including a season ago in Cullowhee by the score of 74-66. In the defeat a season ago to NCCU, the Catamounts were led by Kyla Allison who totaled 25 points as Tamori Plantin led on the glass with six rebounds. Prior to the three-game win streak for NCCU, WCU earned the first three wins in the head-to-head series.
Following Wednesday's matinee in Durham, the Catamounts return to Cullowhee for the first of four straight beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 28 as WCU hosts Georgia State at 7 p.m. from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The matchup with the Panthers starts a stretch of nine of the next 11 games at home for the Catamounts. The Georgia State game will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's basketball and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, Catamountwbb).
