Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball is back in the Palmetto State for the second week in a row as the Catamounts face the Presbyterian Blue Hose Friday night in Clinton, S.C. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Templeton Center.
Last time out, WCU (4-2) fell by four points to the Georgia State Panthers in Atlanta 68-64. Presbyterian (0-4) also took a four-point loss in their last game, falling 78-74 at home to UNC Wilmington.
Friday's Women's Basketball Matchup:
Western Carolina (4-2) at Presbyterian (0-4)
Nov. 22, 2024 | Templeton Center | Clinton, S.C. | 6:30 p.m.
Watch (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/2wrtewmv
Live Stats: https://tinyurl.com/4au62zxy
Full Court Press:
The Catamounts and Blue Hose meet for only the seventh time in program history with the series evenly split at 3-3. The two teams have battled it out on the hardwood in each of the last three seasons with two of those three meetings being decided by a single point. The 2022 meeting went in Presbyterian's favor in a tight 68-67 contest with the Catamounts' last win in the series coming in a 52-51 victory back in a 2021 matchup.
The Purple and Gold are 4-2 to start the 2024-25 campaign with two of those wins coming against Big South competition. The Catamounts opened their six-game road stretch with a 55-53 win over the Radford Highlanders before posting a dominant 80-52 victory against USC Upstate in Spartanburg. WCU is the first of two Southern Conference opponents on the docket for Presbyterian, who will face the ETSU Buccaneers on Nov. 27.
Players to Watch:
The Catamount offensive attack was relatively evenly distributed in the road matchup with Georgia State as four Catamounts scored in double figures. Zanoria Cruz led WCU with 13 points, joined in double figures by AC Carter (11), Tyja Beans (11), and Kehinde Obasuyi (10). Additionally, Carter collected eight rebounds while Beans and Jada Burton picked up six off the glass apiece.
In her second consecutive start, Jada Burton conducted an efficient offensive effort, distributing eight assists in the road loss. On the season, Burton has a team-leading 27 assists, more than second-place Obasuyi's total of 13 and Beans' third-place tally of nine combined.
Presbyterian is led by the efficient Kishyah Anderson, who is shooting over 50% to start the season for the Blue Hose. Anderson has connected on 21 of 39 attempts from the floor through four games and averages 12.8 points per game early. Shelby Fiddler is Presbyterian's greatest threat from beyond the arc so far this season, sinking 35% of her attempts from 3-point range.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
Western Carolina closes out the longest road stretch of the season with the Tennessee Lady Vols next Tuesday. The tip-off of the final road matchup of November is set for 7:00 p.m. in Knoxville. The Catamounts will then enjoy a much-deserved respite before returning to Cullowhee to host West Georgia and Gardner-Webb on Dec. 6 and Dec. 8 respectively.
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).
