CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Graduate student Lonasia Brewer matched her career-high with 20 points on Saturday evening, but Samford rode a strong second quarter to spoil the Catamounts' senior day with the Bulldogs earning the 72-57 victory on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.

"I think our effort was really good but not smart tonight," said WCU head coach Kiley Hill. "We played a solid first quarter and then just beat ourselves in the second with unforced turnovers and poor shot selection." 

Before tip-off on Saturday, WCU honored its six senior student-athletes as Brewer was joined by Audrey Meyers, Zanoria Cruz, Ewa Kielar, Bailey Trumm, and Mya Love. 

"I think we've had our challenges with not being able to get the wins we wanted in the program during our seniors' time here, but they've been able to lay a foundation to help leave the program better than they found it," added Hill. 

Brewer connected on 9-of-14 field goals with five rebounds and a blocked shot. Freshman Tyja Beans tallied her sixth double-figure scoring game in her last eight with 10 points and five rebounds. Zanoria Cruz added nine points and Audrey Meyers posted eight points and four rebounds. Jada Burton led the Catamounts on the glass with seven rebounds. 

Sadie Stetson led Samford as one of four players in double figures with 14 points, including four three-pointers and seven rebounds. Masyn Marchbanks tallied 13 points as Carly Heidger added 11 points and three rebounds. Emily Bowman rounded out the double-figure scoring for the Bulldogs with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. 

The two teams went back and forth in the opening quarter, trading points with four ties in the opening six minutes with neither team able to gain more than a one-possession advantage. Spurred by Brewer's 10-point quarter, she helped spearhead an 8-3 run to extend the Catamounts' lead to five, 16-11, before a 3-pointer from the Bulldogs made it 16-14 after the first quarter.

Samford (12-14, 4-7 SoCon) began the second quarter fast with an 11-3 run over the first 2:30 to gain a 25-19 advantage. The Bulldogs then continued to keep the pressure on the Catamounts with a 15-3 run over the next four minutes to push the advantage to 18, 40-22. The Catamounts continued to chip away, though, cutting the deficit to 14 before a pair of late free throws gave Samford a 46-30 halftime lead. 

Western Carolina (6-20, 1-10 SoCon) came out fast in the second half with a 7-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 11, 48-37 at the 6:55 mark. In a low-scoring quarter, Samford used a 9-2 run to push the margin to 18, 57-39 before WCU scored the final five points of the frame to make it 57-44 after three quarters. 

Samford opened the fourth quarter on a 9-4 burst, extending the lead to 18, 66-48 with 6:50 to play. WCU pushed back with an 8-3 run but could not get any closer as the Bulldogs claimed the 72-57 victory. 

Western Carolina posted a 43.1% (22-of-51) shooting performance from the field compared to 41% (25-of-61) for Samford. Samford used the deep ball to its advantage, making seven threes compared to one for WCU. The Catamounts went 12-of-17 at the line, and the guests went 15-of-22 at the stripe. Both teams matched each others performance on the glass with 36 rebounds apiece with the Bulldogs pulling down 14 offensive boards and turning into 17 second chance points. 

The Catamounts open a three-game road swing to conclude the regular season with a trip to league-leading Chattanooga to battle the Mocs from McKenzie Arena with tip-off set for 7 p.m. The match-up with Chattanooga will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats on CatamountSports.com. 

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