GREENVILLE, S.C. – Graduate transfer Lonasia Brewer paced all scorers with a season-high 20 points, but Western Carolina couldn't overcome a late run from Furman as the Paladins picked up the 58-53 victory on Sunday afternoon in Southern Conference women's basketball action from Timmons Arena. WCU did not trail until the final minute of regulation in Sunday's difficult road decision.
"We played with tremendous effort today to put ourselves in a position to earn a hard fought road win. We simply didn't capitalize and execute with the opportunities we had in the last few minutes of that game to put it away," commented head coach Kiley Hill.
"I hurt for our kids because they have steadily, improved in this area and we are so close to being on the opposite side of the coin we have find ourselves on. We must have faith over fear and believe we can. That is the difference right now."
Brewer posted her best offensive performance of the season, connecting on 9-of-14 field goals including her first eight of the contest on Sunday. The graduate student added a team-high eight rebounds and tallied a pair of assists for WCU. Chelsea Wooten just missed double figures with nine points and also added four rebounds and a pair of assists. Freshman Tyja Beans filled the stat sheet for the Catamounts with eight points and seven rebounds, finishing just one of off her season-high she had hit twice during the 2023-24 season. Jada Burton led WCU in assists with seven helpers, one off her season-high set against Queens in December.
Sydney Ryan was one of three Paladins in double figures with 15 points and pulled six rebounds down. Jada Session added 14 points and Niveya Henley rounded out the double-figure scoring with 12 points, adding six rebounds and three steals. All three players for Furman were efficient at the charity stripe as Ryan went 7-of-8 while both Session and Henley made 6-of-8 free throws. Sydney James led the way for Furman on the glass with nine boards while also tallying six points, two blocks, and two steals.
Western Carolina (6-18, 1-8 SoCon) jumped on the Paladins quickly with a 7-2 run out the gates on Sunday led by four quick points from Brewer. Furman converted a three-point play before Nicole Azar, Tyja Beans, and Lonasia Brewer helped WCU close on an 11-3 run to take the 18-8 lead to the second quarter. The eight points allowed marked the fewest the Catamounts had allowed to the opposition in a first quarter in SoCon play.
Furman (13-12, 3-6 SoCon) and WCU traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second quarter before a pair of Catamount layups pushed the advantage to 24-12 with 7:33 to play in the first half. Furman began to cut into the lead over the remainder of the frame with a 13-2 run over the next seven minutes before a late Azar layup gave the guests the 28-25 lead at intermission.
Audrey Meyers and Brewer opened the second half with the quarter's first five points before Furman scored six of the next seven points to cut the Catamounts lead to three, 34-31, at the 7:18 mark of the third quarter. Tyra Robinson answered with a quick layup before a 5-2 burst from the Paladins cut the WCU lead to two, 38-36 at the four-minute mark. The two teams went back and forth before the Paladins scored the quarter's final four points to even things up at 45 headed to the fourth quarter.
WCU opened the fourth with six straight points before Furman responded with four of its own at the halfway point of the final 10 minutes. Meyers connected on a pair of free throws as the two teams went scoreless for three minutes, with the score at 53-49 with 1:31 to play. The Paladins then closed the game with a 9-0 run over the final 90 seconds, pulling in front for the first time with 51 seconds to play and then held on for the come-from-behind 58-53 victory. WCU was limited to just eight points in the fourth quarter and without a field goal over the final six and a half minutes.
Western Carolina posted a 36.8% (21-of-57) field goal performance on Sunday and held Furman to 33.3% (16-of-48). Both teams struggled from deep, combining for six made 3-pointers – three apiece – from beyond the arc. The hosts used the free throw line to their advantage, making 23-of-30 at the stripe as WCU was only 8-of-13, all coming in the second half.
The Paladins had a slight edge on the glass at 37-36 as the Catamounts dished out 14 assists compared to eight for the Paladins. The guests led in the paint by eight, 30-22, and the Catamounts had a slight edge in bench scoring at 9-7 as both teams relied on their starters.
The Catamounts begin their final home weekend of the 2023-24 season on Thursday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. with a visit from Mercer to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. The Catamounts look to "White Out Ramsey" in the matchup against the Bears with all fans encouraged to wear their white WCU gear to the game. The first 300 WCU students will also receive a free long-sleeve white WCU shirt. Thursday is also WCU Faculty and Staff Day. The game will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network and live stats available on CatamountSports.com. The Catamounts host Samford on Saturday, Feb. 17, in the backend of a WCU hoops doubleheader with the men's squad for its annual "Pink Out" game to benefit the "Shoot for the Cure" initiative.
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