CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball opens the 2024 portion of its schedule on Sunday afternoon as the Catamounts close out nonconference play by hosting NAIA-member Montreat at 2 p.m. from Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Sunday'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: Montreat (7-7) vs Western Carolina (4-10)
Date: Sunday, January 7
Time: 2 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
Winners of two straight, the Catamounts look to open 2024 like they finished 2023 as WCU claimed a 73-34 victory over Southern Wesleyan on December 30 in Cullowhee. In the win, redshirt sophomore Nicole Azar tallied a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds as preseason All-Southern Conference selection senior Mya Love added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Senior Zanoria Cruz just missed a double-double in the contest with 11 points and nine rebounds to round out the double-figure scoring for the Catamounts.
Chelsea Wooten enters 2024 tied for third in the SoCon with 33 3-pointers, which is one off the league-best of 34. Wooten also leads the conference with 2.5 threes per game. Jada Burton comes into play in a tie for second in assists on the season with 60 helpers. She's also third in assist-to-turnover ratio in the league at 1.1. Burton is tied for second in the conference with 4.3 assists per game and is tied for fourth in the SoCon with 21 steals, averaging 1.5 per contest.
Montreat, an NAIA program in the Appalachian Athletic program located just east of Asheville, comes into the weekend with a 7-7 record thus far in the 2023-24 season. The Cavaliers square off with Bluefield (Va.) on Saturday afternoon before traveling to Cullowhee the next day. Sunday's matchup is the second for Montreat against a SoCon school as the Cavs battled UNCG right before the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Cavaliers are led by Virginia Edmondson who is averaging 19.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. She also leads the way for Montreat with 45 steals and has connected on a team-high 41 3-pointers. Adrianna Gullette is scoring 14.1 points per game and Rymiah Sanders has scored 11.0 points per outing to give Montreat three in double figures. Vaniyah Petty paces the squad with 6.1 rebounds per contest.
Montreat finished the 2022-23 season with a 20-10 record including a 15-9 mark in conference play for the Cavaliers. The Cavs were tabbed sixth in the Appalachian Athletic Conference as part of the NAIA preseason poll. Montreat is a part of the Appalachian Athletic Conference which includes 15 schools from North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia.
WCU has won each of the prior 11 meetings over Montreat which includes a 69-51 win a season ago in Cullowhee. Sunday's matchup marks the third straight year the Catamounts and Cavaliers have squared off in the two program's histories. In the win last season over Montreat, Kyla Allison led the way with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Mya Love added 10 points and eight rebounds for WCU. Audrey Meyers was influential on the glass with seven rebounds for the Catamounts during the win.
Following Sunday's contest in Cullowhee, the Catamounts open SoCon play beginning on Thursday, Jan. 11, as Furman visits Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center for a 7 p.m. start. The matchup with the Paladins will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com and live audio provided by Catamount Sports Network.
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).
