CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball opens its final home stretch of the season on Thursday when the Catamounts welcome Mercer to Cullowhee for a "White Out Ramsey" presented by The Everson. The matchup with the Bears is set for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center and will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com and live audio on the Catamount Sports Network.
Matchup: Mercer (10-15, 4-5 SoCon) vs Western Carolina (6-18, 1-8 SoCon)
Date: Thursday, February 15
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center (Cullowhee, N.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: Watch ESPN
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
Twitter: @CatamountWBB
TICKETS
GAME NOTES
DIGITAL GAME PROGRAM
Western Carolina begins its final home week of the season after a tight 58-53 defeat on the road at Furman. Graduate transfer Lonasia Brewer paced all scorers with a season-high 20 points, but Western Carolina couldn't overcome a late run from the Paladins on Sunday afternoon in Southern Conference action at Timmons Arena. In Sunday's difficult road decision, WCU did not trail until the final minute of regulation.
Entering the week, Chelsea Wooten is tied for eighth in the league with an average of 11.3 points per game while pacing the conference 3-pointers with 53, averaging 2.4 per game in conference play. The McKinney, Texas product is seventh in league play with 16 made threes. Wooten leads the team and is tied for ninth in the SoCon with an average of 31.3 minutes per game, fourth in conference play at 34.3 minutes per game in the nine games.
Jada Burton ranks second in the SoCon with 91 assists as one of two players in the league to have at least 90 assists on the season. Burton sits in a tie for third in league play in helpers with 29 assists in eight SoCon matchups. Burton is also tied for eighth in the league with a team-high 31 steals.
Lonasia Brewer ranks 10th in the SoCon with 54 offensive rebounds and is tied for fourth in league play in the same category with 24 boards on the offensive end. Led by Burton's 91 helpers, the Catamounts sit second in the league with 325 assists, while also ranking second in shooting percentage at 41.1%.
Mercer comes into Thursday's tilt with a 10-15 record including a 4-5 mark in league play. The Bears fell on Saturday to SoCon leader Chattanooga at home by the score of 61-52, ending a two-game win streak that included victories over Samford and ETSU in their two previous league games.
The Bears are led by Summah Evans, who's garnered a pair of SoCon weekly awards and is averaging 13.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Evans has tallied double-doubles against Kennesaw State (26 pts, 10 rebs) and ETSU (21 pts, 11 rebs) and scored a season-high 35 points against Samford. Stacie Jones averages 11.0 points per game while Briana Peguero rounds out the three double-figure scorers with 10.5 points per contest. Evans leads the Bears on the glass with 7.3 rebounds per game, while Jones is just behind at 6.8 per contest. Deja Williams paces Mercer from beyond the arc, connecting on 53 threes and dishing out a team-high 69 assists.
WCU and Mercer meet for the 29th time on Thursday with the Bears holding a 27-1 edge in the all-time series. Mercer has earned the win in the past 10 meetings with the Catamounts looking to break a four-game home skid to the Bears, last earning a victory over Mercer on Feb. 1, 2020, WCU's lone win in the head-to-head series.
In the first meeting with Mercer, Western Carolina closed its first SoCon road swing by falling to Mercer 78-44 at Hawkins Arena. Lonasia Brewer and Tyja Beans finished with 10 points apiece to lead the way for WCU.
Following Thursday's action in Cullowhee, the Catamounts wrap up the home portion of their schedule home on Saturday in the back end of a hoops doubleheader, hosting Samford at 7 p.m. on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Saturday's women's game is a "Shoot for the Cure – Pink Out". The team is selling special "Shoot for the Cure" T-shirts that are black and pink to accommodate both weekend promotions – contact assistant coach Shayna Gore (sgore@wcu.edu) for more information or to purchase a shirt with all proceeds to benefit the Great Smokies Health Foundation...
The matchup with the Bulldogs will be preceded by Catamount Men's Basketball battling ETSU in "Beat the Bucs – Black Out!" set for 4 p.m. Both games will be shown on ESPN+ with live stats on CatamountSports.com and live audio on the 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).
