CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Redshirt sophomore Nicole Azar led the offense with a career-high 18 points and the Western Carolina women's basketball team out 2023 by claiming a 73-34 victory over the Southern Wesleyan Warriors on Saturday afternoon at Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
"Unbelievably proud of our team effort today," said WCU head coach Kiley Hill. "After being off for the Christmas holiday and a short practice window, we were able to find our second wind after a rocky start as this team is still a great work in progress. We responded in a great way multiple times by multiple players with balanced contributions."
Making just her third start for WCU, Azar led the way with 18 points, connecting on 6-of-12 field goals and adding three from beyond the arc. Mya Love added 12 points along with six rebounds and three assists off the bench. Zanoria Cruz rounded out the double-figure scoring with 11 points and finished with nine rebounds, which matched her career high and led WCU on the glass.
Bailey Trumm just missed double-figures as she scored nine points, connecting on three from beyond the arc. Chelsea Wooten dished out a team-high four assists.
Shelby Glance and Lexi Greffen led the Warriors with eight points apiece in the contest. Asia Pearly led the guests with five rebounds on Saturday. Dynasty Shegog had a team-best three steals for SWU.
The Catamounts got on the board first with a pair of free throws before Southern Wesleyan used a 7-3 spurt to jump in front in the opening minutes. WCU answered quickly with a 14-4 run over the remainder of the quarter, which Azar led with four points as the hosts stretched their lead to eight, 19-11.
The Warriors quickly cut the deficit to six, 21-15, before seven straight points from WCU allowed the hosts to regain a double-digit edge. The guests scored four unanswered before an 11-0 run over the final 3:30 pushed the WCU lead to 39-19 after 20 minutes.
After the guests scored the opening two points of the third quarter from the free throw line, WCU rattled off the final 20 points to extend to a 59-21 lead after three quarters. Bailey Trumm led the way with six points in that burst, as Love had five and Cruz had four. SWU was held without a made field goal in the third stanza.
The Warriors scored four of the first five points of the final frame before five unanswered from Azar, pushing the advantage to 65-25. Southern Wesleyan could not get it any closer as the Catamounts closed out 2023 with a 73-34 victory over the visiting Warriors.
Western Carolina (4-10) posted a 42.4% (25-of-59) performance from the floor as Southern Wesleyan was held to 23.1% (12-of-52) shooting. The 23.1% shooting for the Warriors is a season-low allowed for the Catamounts thus far in the 2023-24 season. WCU connected on nine 3-pointers led by Bailey Trumm and Azar compared to three for the visitors. The hosts went 14-of-19 from the foul line as SWU went 7-of-11.
Led by nine rebounds from Cruz, the Catamounts won the rebounding battle by 15, 48-33. WCU had 18 assists, led by Wooten with four compared to five for the visitors. Western Carolina outscored the guests 24-12 points in the paint and 29-7 in bench scoring.
The Catamounts flip the calendar to the 2024 portion of the slate with a 2 p.m. tip on Sunday, January 7, against Montreat on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The matchup with the Cavaliers 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).
