CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball hits the road one final time before the holidays with a trip to Charlotte on Wednesday afternoon for a 3 p.m. tip against Queens out of the ASUN. The matchup with the Royals will take place at Curry Arena and will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available at CatamountSports.com.
Matchup: Western Carolina (2-10) at Queens (5-6)
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 20
Time: 3 p.m.
Site: Curry Arena (Charlotte, N.C.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: Watch ESPN
Twitter: @CatamountWBB
Western Carolina closes out the pre-holiday portion of its calendar on Wednesday with a trip to Charlotte to battle Queens University. The Catamounts enter the game after an 89-79 defeat on Monday afternoon at the hands of Murray State. WCU was led by freshman Tyra Robinson who had a career-high 20 points and seven rebounds. Chelsea Wooten added 17 points in the contest, connecting on five threes.
Wooten sits atop the Southern Conference with 3-pointers, the lone player in the SoCon to have made 30 or more threes thus far in the 2023-24 campaign. Wooten averages 2.8 3-pointers per game which leads all conference players. Jada Burton is third in the conference in assists with 51, as she's one of three league players to have eclipsed 50 assists thus far. As a team, WCU is second in the league in assists (167), led by Burton's 51 helpers.
Queens comes into Wednesday's matchup with a 5-6 record as the Royals dropped a 62-46 decision on Sunday afternoon against Big South foe Radford. In addition to Radford, Queens also faced off against the same three Big South foes that the Catamounts have matched up with thus far in the 2023-24 schedule, earning a win over USC Upstate (61-51) and suffering losses to UNC Asheville (67-53) and Presbyterian (69-60). Queens began the season with SEC contests against nationally ranked teams in Ole Miss and LSU. Combined, the Royals hold a 4-1 mark in home contests.
Nicole Gwynn leads the way for Queens offensively with 18.2 points per game, connecting on a team-high 33 threes. The South Carolina State transfer has totaled five 20+ point performances including a season-high 32 points against Columbia. Kemia Ward posted 10 points and five rebounds in her first game of the season on Sunday against Radford. Jordyn Weaver sits with a team-high 53.9% field goal percentage and a team-best 7.6 rebounds per game.
Queens finished with an 8-21 record during the 2022-23 season as the Royals went 3-15 in the A-SUN Conference. The Royals were tabbed 12th in the ASUN Preseason Poll under the leadership of Jen Brown, who's in her fourth year at the helm.
WCU and Queens have met once before with the Catamounts claiming the 68-59 victory a season ago in Cullowhee. Mya Love led WCU in the win with 19 points, while Audrey Meyers poured in nine points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Following Wednesday's road matchup in the Queen City, the Catamounts take a 10-day hiatus for the holidays before returning to the hardwood on Saturday, Dec. 30, for a 1 p.m. tip against Southern Wesleyan on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The matchup will be the front side of a Catamount basketball doubleheader with the men's team welcoming in King University at 4 p.m.
The matchup with the SWU Warriors will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats and live audio by the Catamount Sports Network both 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).
