CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball continues its season-long four-game homestand on Saturday as the Catamounts welcome Presbyterian out of the Big South Conference for a 4 p.m. start from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The contest with the Blue Hose will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available at CatamountSports.com. Also, admission on Saturday is FREE.
Matchup: Presbyterian (5-3) vs Western Carolina (2-5)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 2
Time: 4 p.m.
Site: Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center (Cullowhee, N.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: ESPN+
Twitter: @CatamountWBB
Western Carolina returns to the hardwood looking to rebound from a 90-57 defeat on Tuesday night at the hands of Georgia State, which opened the Catamounts' home-heavy calendar for December. Jada Burton led the Catamounts with 13 points and five assists as Zanoria Cruz tallied 11 points off the bench.
Saturday's game continues a stretch for the Catamounts as they play nine of their next 11 games on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Western Carolina opened the homestand on Tuesday, and following Saturday's tilt with PC, the Catamounts are slated to host USC Upstate (Dec. 5) and UNC Asheville (Dec. 9).
The two road dates in this long home stretch of games come at North Carolina (Dec. 15) in Chapel Hill and Queens (Dec. 20) in Charlotte, with a home game against Murray State (Dec. 18) sandwiched between the lone away contests in December. Following the holidays, WCU has another four-game homestand beginning with Southern Wesleyan (Dec. 30), Montreat (Jan. 7), and the first two SoCon games against Furman (Jan. 11) and Wofford (Jan. 13).
Saturday also begins a stretch of three home games against the Big South Conference, hosting the Blue Hose, USC Upstate, and UNC Asheville. The Catamounts also hosted Radford (Nov. 9) during the opening week of the 2023-24 season.
Presbyterian comes into play on Saturday with a 5-3 record as the Blue Hose has won four of their past five including three straight against UNCW, Morehead State, and NC Central. The Blue Hose also picked up early season wins over Johnson C. Smith and Columbia International. PC has rebounded from two losses in the opening two contests against Kansas State and Wichita State while also dropping a matchup to SoCon foe ETSU.
Tilda Sjökvist and Bryanna Brady, both of whom garnered preseason All-Big South honors, pace the Blue Hose on the offensive side of the court. Brady does most of her damage inside, averaging 13.3 points per game and shooting 62.0% (44-of-71), ranking in the Top 20 nationally. Brady has already posted five double-figure scoring performances, including 22 points against ETSU and 20 against UNCW.
Sjökvist has hurt teams both inside and outside as she's scoring 12.6 ppg, connected on a team-high 17 threes, and has made 14-of-18 from the foul line. She's posted a 40.2% field goal percentage on the season as she leads the Blue Hose with 26 assists. Christina Kline leads a balanced attack on the glass with 41 rebounds.
Presbyterian finished the 2022-23 season 13-17 record including a 9-9 mark in the Big South Conference. The Blue Hose fell to Radford at the buzzer of the 2023 Big South Tournament quarterfinals a season ago. PC was picked to finish in a tie for second in the league's preseason poll, the highest predicted finish in the program's DI history which began in 2008. The Blue Hose is under the direction of Alaura Sharp who's in her sixth year at the helm for PC.
WCU and Presbyterian have met just five times before Saturday's matchup with the Catamounts holding a 3-2 edge in the all-time series. The last two contests have been a one-point result each way with PC earning the 68-67 victory a season ago in Clinton and WCU picking up the 52-51 win in Cullowhee during the 2021-22 season. In last year's tilt, Mya Love tallied a team-high 23 points as Reagan Trumm had 15 points on four threes.
Following Saturday's action in Cullowhee, the Catamounts are set for their education day game on Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 11:30 a.m. at Ingles Court from the Ramsey Center against USC Upstate. The matchup with the Spartans is the third game of the four straight home games for WCU. The game with Upstate will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com and free admission for the lunchtime tilt.
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).
