Women's Basketball 12/4/2023 11:42:00 AM Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Women’s Basketball Hosts USC Upstate for Education Day

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball continues its stretch of Big South opponents on Tuesday with an Education Day matchup against USC Upstate with tip set for 11:30 a.m. from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The contest with the Spartans will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available at CatamountSports.com. Also, admission to Tuesday's mid-morning game is FREE.

Matchup: USC Upstate (3-6) vs. Western Carolina (2-6)
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 5
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Site: Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center (Cullowhee, N.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: ESPN+
Twitter: @CatamountWBB

Western Carolina looks to get back in the win column on Tuesday following a 60-41 loss on Saturday at the hands of Presbyterian. The game continues a stretch of three home games against the Big South Conference. The Catamounts also host UNC Asheville in a hoops doubleheader on Saturday (Dec. 9). WCU has already squared off against Radford (Nov. 9) and Presbyterian (Dec. 2) during the 2023-24 season.

Jada Burton enters Tuesday's matchup ranked fourth in the Southern Conference in assists with 34 helpers as she's also fourth in assists/game with 4.3 per contest. She's also tied for sixth in the conference with 14 steals. Senior Zanoria Cruz is tied for fifth in the SoCon with a 70.0% free throw percentage. As a team, WCU checks into the week third in assists (113), third in steals (62), and third in field goal percentage (41.4%).

USC Upstate enters with a 3-6 record as the Spartans fell to SoCon foe Samford in their last on-court action. Upstate has won this season against Lees-McRae, S.C. State, and North Florida, with two of those three coming on their home court.

Rebekah Gordon leads the Spartans on the offensive end of the court with 11.0 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per contest through the opening nine games. She's already tallied five double-figure scoring outputs, including a season-high 18 points against UNF. Isabell West leads the Spartans with a 60% (30-of-50) field goal percentage, scoring 9.4 points/game. AC Markham has a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game. Big South Preseason All-Conference selection Trinity Johnson leads Upstate with 49 assists.

USC Upstate finished the 2022-23 campaign with an 11-20 record as the Spartans went 7-11 in the Big South Conference. Upstate defeated CSU in the 2023 Big South Tournament opening round before falling to #2 High Point in the quarterfinals. The Spartans were tabbed to finish sixth in the Big South under the direction of second-year head coach Jason Williams.

Western Carolina holds a 9-7 edge in the all-time series with USC Upstate as the Catamounts picked up a 58-48 victory a season ago in Spartanburg over the Spartans. The eight head-to-head battles in Cullowhee have been split 4-4, with each team earning an OT win in the last two showdowns in Cullowhee. In the 2022 battle, Ewa Kielar tallied 10 rebounds as Reagan Trumm led the way with 15 points, with Mya Love chipping in with a dozen for WCU.

Following Tuesday's matchup in Cullowhee, the Catamounts are set to close out their season-long four-game homestand on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. at Ingles Court from the Ramsey Center against mountain rival UNC Asheville. The matchup with the Bulldogs will be the backend of a doubleheader as the men's team squares off with UNC Asheville at 4 p.m. The game with Asheville 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).

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Players Mentioned

#13 Zanoria Cruz: G/F; 5' 10"; Senior

#15 Ewa Kielar: F/P; 6' 1"; Senior

#4 Mya Love: G; 5' 8"; Senior

#3 Reagan Trumm: G; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#10 Jada Burton: G; 5' 8"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#13 Zanoria Cruz
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G/F

#15 Ewa Kielar
: 6' 1"; Senior
: F/P

#4 Mya Love
: 5' 8"; Senior
: G

#3 Reagan Trumm
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: G

#10 Jada Burton
: 5' 8"; Junior
: G

Western Carolina University

Schedule

Women’s Basketball Hosts USC Upstate for Education Day

Players Mentioned

#13 Zanoria Cruz

#15 Ewa Kielar

#4 Mya Love

#3 Reagan Trumm

#10 Jada Burton

Players Mentioned

#13 Zanoria Cruz

#15 Ewa Kielar

#4 Mya Love

#3 Reagan Trumm

#10 Jada Burton