CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball flips the calendar to Southern Conference play on Thursday night as the Catamounts welcome in Furman for a 7 p.m. tip from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Thursday's action will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats and live audio from the Catamount Sports Network available at CatamountSports.com.
Matchup: Furman (10-6) vs Western Carolina (5-10)
Date: Thursday, January 11
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center (Cullowhee, N.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: Watch ESPN
Live Audio: Catamount Sports Network
Twitter: @CatamountWBB
TICKETS
GAME NOTES
Western Carolina begins SoCon play coming off wins in each of its last three games as the Catamounts play host to Furman on Thursday night in Cullowhee. WCU has earned wins over Queens (69-63), Southern Wesleyan (73-34), and Montreat (58-39) the last three times it has hit the hardwood. Behind a game-high 18 points from junior Chelsea Wooten, the Catamounts grabbed the victory in their nonconference finale over the Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon.
Wooten leads the conference in 3-pointers (37) and also paces the league with 2.6 threes per game. Wooten has had nine games with multiple threes including a season-high eight against USC Upstate. Jada Burton ranks third in the league with 62 assists averaging 4.1 per contest also placing her third amongst SoCon players. Burton is tied for third in assist/turnover ratio at 1.1. She is tied for fourth in steals with 21 on the year. As a team, WCU ranks second in assists (218) and third in field goal percentage (41.9%).
Furman begins conference play with a 10-6 record as the Paladins have won three straight including a 93-40 victory over Converse last time out. The Paladins and Catamounts have four common opponents on the season. Furman finished with a 3-1 record with wins over UNC Asheville, Southern Wesleyan & N.C. Central with a road loss to USC Upstate. WCU earned a win over Southern Wesleyan among those four common opponents.
Jada Session leads the Paladins offensively as one of five in double figures averaging 13.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, which also leads Furman. Session is tied for fifth in the league in scoring while pacing the SoCon in rebounding. Sydney Ryan scores 11.9 points per game which ranks eighth in the league and has connected on a team-high 34 threes to put her in a tie for second in the conference.
Kate Johnson is scoring 11.6 ppg and sits second on the team with 7.4 rebounds per game as Johnson is making 64.5% of her field goals. Niveya Henley and Tate Walters round out the double figure scoring with 11.1 and 10.6 points per game respectively as Walters was named to the preseason All-SoCon team prior to the start of the 2023-24 season.
Furman finished the 2022-23 season with an 11-19 record including a 3-11 mark in conference play. The Paladins were tabbed fifth in the coaches poll and seventh in the media poll released before the season as Furman is under the direction of Pierre Curtis who's in his first season at the helm for the Paladins. Walters also was recognized by the league on the conference's preseason all-conference team.
WCU and Furman meet for the 92nd time in the two programs' respective histories with the Paladins leading the all-time series, 52-39. The Paladins earned a 60-46 victory in Cullowhee last season along with a 66-53 win in Greenville as Furman has won each of the past 12 head-to-head battles. In the two matchups last season, Kyla Allison led the way for WCU averaging 13.5 points per game as Mya Love had 10 points and four rebounds in the road setback with Furman.
Following Thursday's contest in Cullowhee, the Catamounts close out the opening week of conference play by hosting Wofford at 2 p.m. on Saturday from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Wofford sits at 8-6 thus far as the Terriers travel to UNCG on Thursday before visiting Cullowhee. The matchup with Wofford 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).
