Spartanburg, S.C. - The Western Carolina women's basketball team triumphed on the road over USC Upstate in nonconfernece action on Saturday afternoon, posting an explosive 80-52 victory over the Spartans. The win moves the Catamounts to 4-1 on the season, their best start through five games since the 2007-08 season.

Chelsea Wooten led the Catamounts by hitting the 20-point milestone against the Spartans for the second-consecutive season. The senior from McKinney, Texas was electric in Spartanburg, finishing 3-for-9 from beynod the three-point arc adding a pair of free throws. She was joined in the scoring effort by AC Carter, Tyja Beans, and Zanoria Cruz who each had 10-plus on the day. Beans finished just one rebound shy of the second double-double of her career.  
 
Wooten attempted to carry momentum from her 29-point effort against the Spartans last season early, taking the first shot of the day for either team 30 seconds into the first quarter, but missed on the attempt. AC Carter was there for the rebound and put-back for the first bucket of the day in what would prove to be a back and forth first quarter as the two teams traded the lead four times.  
 
Tied at 16 going into the second quarter, the Catamounts hit their stride from beyond the arc to close out the opening half. Recovering from an 0-for-4 first quarter as a team, Reagan Trumm connected on her seventh 3-pointer of the season to open the second stanza, giving WCU the lead early. Physical play from Upstate's Ava Miller and Rebekah Gordon earned a one-point lead at 20-19 for the home team before both teams hit an offensive lull with 8:20 to go. Carter broke the drought at the 6:39 mark, hitting her only made three attempt of the day to give the Catamounts a two-point lead which they would never relinquish.  
 
Wooten followed up Carter's triple with one of her own to push the Catamount lead to five before Tyja Beans stretched it to seven on a putback from a missed Kehinde Obasuyi three attempt. Down seven, the Spartans answered with back-to-back buckets from Gracie Barnes and AC Markham, but an offensive rebound by Jada Burton resulted in a Zanoria Cruz layup with Wooten following up with her second of six made threes in the game. Following the Wooten trey, the Spartans outscored the Catamounts 8-2 to close out the half but WCU maintained a narrow 34-33 lead at the break.  
 
The third quarter belonged to Chelsea Wooten, who went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and chipped in an assist as WCU began to pull away. The last made Spartan shot of the quarter came from Cassie Galagher with 6:02 to go before the Catamounts exploded for a 13-0 run with Wooten scoring six by herself to end the quarter up 15, 52-37.  
 
Carter extended the Catamount run to 15-0 to open the final period of play before Jeni Levine notched the first points of the quarter for the Spartans. WCU's lead shrunk to as few as 13 after a made 3-pointer by Aubrie Kierscht, but the Catamounts responded. WCU led by as much as 31 after Wooten's sixth made three of the day with a minute to go before she took the final shots of the day to bring the Catamounts to 80 points. 
 
Catamount Notables: 

• The Catamounts move to 4-1 for the first time since the 2007-08 season. The 4-1 start is only the fourth such start in the 21st century for the Catamounts alongside the 07-08,  04-05 and 02-03 teams; 
• Chelsea Wooten has posted strong performances against the USC Upstate Spartans, shooting 16-for-29 including 14-of-25 beyond the arc with three made free throws, four rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal ... She has scored 49 points in two career games;  
• Tyja Beans posted her fifth consecutive game with at least five rebounds, the longest streak in her career 
• Regan Trumm is shooting 8/18 to open the season, shooting 44% from the floor. The junior from Powel, Tenn scored her first non-three pointer of the season against the Spartans.  
• Jada Burton has conducted the offense for the Catamounts in their last three outings, posting at least four assists in all three matchups.  
• The 80-52 win over the Spartans is the largest margin of victory for either team in series history. The previous high was a 19-point Catamount victory in 1984 (WCU 73, USCU 54). The 28-point win is the first 10+ point victory by either team in the series since a 13-point victory for Upstate in 1996 (WCU 51, USCU 64) 
• Catamount women's basketball legend Jennifer Gardner (2001-05) was enshrined as a member of the Hall of Fame class of 2024. She was joined in the honor by Manteo Mitchell (track and field, 2005-09) and Matt Cook (Men's Golf, 2004-08) 

 
Up Next for The Catamounts: 
The Purple and Gold stay on the road to face the Georgia State Panthers in a Tuesday night matinee. Tip in Atlanta is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The Catamounts will then travel to Clinton, S.C. to take on the Presbyterian Blue Hose on Friday before facing the Tennessee Lady Vols in Knoxville on November 26.