CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball continues its three-game road swing on Saturday afternoon with a matinee against Southern Conference mountain-rival ETSU from Brooks Gymnasium in Johnson City, Tenn. The matchup with the Bucs will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
Matchup: Western Carolina (6-21, 1-11 SoCon) at ETSU (17-9, 6-5 SoCon)
Date: Saturday, February 24
Time: 2 p.m.
Site: Brooks Gymnasium (Johnson City, Tenn.)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Live Video: Watch ESPN
Twitter: @CatamountWBB
GAME NOTES
Western Carolina enters the weekend after a near miss in the midweek against league-leading Chattanooga, falling 60-56 at the McKenzie Arena on Thursday. Tied at 53 inside the game's final 90 seconds, the Mocs' Jada Guinn spurred a late 8-3 run to help propel the home squad to the victory, clinching its 23rd SoCon regular-season championship as Samford upended second-place Wofford, 64-62.
Lonasia Brewer recorded her second double-double of the season with a team-high 19 points and matched her career-best with 12 rebounds to pace the Catamounts, while Chelsea Wooten added 14 points, connecting on three 3-pointers. Wooten scored 11 of her 14 points in the second half on Thursday.
Entering the weekend, Wooten maintained her third-place spot in the SoCon with 56 3-pointers after the trio at Chattanooga. She also moved into ninth place on WCU's single-season record book, by-passing former Catamount Lauren Powell who made 55 in the 2006-07 season. Wooten is tied for the top spot in the league with 2.2 made threes per game. The McKinney, Texas, product leads the team and is 10th in the SoCon with an average of 31.1 minutes per game, seventh in conference play at 32.9 minutes per game in the 11 games.
Jada Burton added eight points, four rebounds, and four assists as the junior matched her career-high with 38 minutes played against the Mocs. She became the first Catamount to eclipse 100 assists in a season since 2019-20 when the sisters Judith Martin Ruiz (113) and Andrea Martin Ruiz (109) hit the mark in the same season.
Burton is second in the SoCon as she eclipsed 100 assists on the season Thursday, becoming just the second player in the league to reach the mark. She's the 20th player in program history to tally 100+ assists in a season. She continues to be among the top players in the SoCon in assists during league play, with 39 helpers in 11 conference games to sit third in that category. She also ranks seventh in the league in steals, with 34 on the season. Led by Burton's 101 helpers, the Catamounts sit second in the league with 355 assists while tallying 137 of those in SoCon play, as the Catamounts also rank second in league games.
Brewer ranks in a tie for 10th in offensive rebounding throughout the 2023-24 campaign, totaling 59 boards, including 29 in conference play, which puts the Akron, Ohio, native in a tie for fifth place in the SoCon.
Saturday's opponent – ETSU – is coming off a 54-51 victory on Thursday over UNCG. The Buccaneers enter play on Saturday with a 17-9 record and a 6-5 mark in SoCon play. The Bucs improved to 11-3 on their home court with the win over the Spartans with a 4-2 record in Johnson City against SoCon schools.
The Bucs are led by Nevaeh Brown who ranks fourth in the SoCon with a 13.8 point per game average, which includes 19 double-figure scoring performances and four 20+ point outings. Kendall Folley averages 8.6 points per game and Courtney Moore scores eight points per game on average for ETSU. Folley has also dished out a team-high 59 assists.
ETSU is led on the glass by Jakhyia Davis, who averages 6.5 rebounds per game, while Breanne Beatty has a team-high of 132 rebounds and has played in nine more games than Davis. Beatty also leads the way for the Bucs, connecting on 37 threes, with Moore making 34 on the year.
In the first meeting back on Jan. 25, Wooten and Tyja Beans both scored 10 points, but Western Carolina suffered a loss to ETSU on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. Brewer finished with eight points for the Catamounts, while ETSU's Nevaeh Brown posted a game-high 18 points and Journee McDaniel added 15 off the bench.
Following Saturday's action in Johnson City, the Catamounts close out their 2023-24 regular season on Saturday, March 2, with a 2 p.m. tip against UNCG at Fleming Gymnasium in Greensboro. The matchup with the Spartans will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
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).
