CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Behind a red-hot shooting performance and five double-figure scorers, Western Carolina defeated UNCG 78-71 on Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference women's basketball action on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. WCU posted a program single-game record 63.6% (28-of-44) shooting performance led by junior Chelsea Wooten with a team-high 17 points.
"I think we have been playing so much better of late and this is the time you want to be doing that, during that February grind," said WCU head coach Kiley Hill. "I couldn't be more proud of our effort today and the preparation coming into this week with just the one game. We were able to get some things in and also allow some players to recover."
Wooten connected on 6-of-7 field goals including a pair of 3-pointers, as she led the team in scoring for the seventh time in the season. Lonasia Brewer added 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds and three assists. Tyja Beans tallied a career-high 13 points, finishing 6-for-9 from the floor to eclipse her previous career-best of 10 that she posted four times this season.
Zanoria Cruz added 11 points off the bench with the double-figure scoring rounded out by Audrey Meyers, who scored 10 points and pulled down five rebounds for the Catamounts. Jada Burton led WCU with seven assists while adding seven points, six rebounds, and a pair of steals.
As a team, WCU finished at 63.6% from the field, surpassing the previous program-best of 62.7% (42-of-67) against Warren Wilson on January 24, 2018. The mark surpassed the best in a SoCon game set at 59.5% (22-of-37) at Chattanooga a season ago.
Jayde Gamble led all scorers on Saturday with 21 points, going 9-of-18 from the floor as one of three players to reach double-figures for the Spartans. Ayanna Khalfani totaled 18 points and six rebounds for UNCG as Kelly Boyle rounded out the double-figure scoring with 15 points for the guests. Khalis Cain led the way on the glass with eight rebounds, including six offensive boards.
Western Carolina (6-16, 1-6 SoCon) opened the contest fast on Saturday with an 11-3 run to gain the early edge, forcing the Spartans to call a timeout. UNCG whittled into the deficit in the opening quarter using a 9-4 run to cut the WCU lead down to three, 15-12, before Cruz added a late layup, leading to a 17-12 lead after the first quarter.
Brewer opened the scoring in the second with a quick layup before an 8-2 spurt from UNCG cut the Catamounts lead to one, 21-20 with 6:54 to play in the opening half. The two teams traded free throws before WCU scored the next five points, extending the lead to 28-22 with 3:37 to play before the break. The guests responded with a 7-2 run before Brewer and Meyers added late buckets to make it 34-29 at the intermission.
Following UNCG's layup in the opening minute of the second half, WCU used a 12-3 burst to extend to the largest of the afternoon at 46-34 with 6:02 to play in the quarter. The Spartans pushed back, scoring six of the next nine points before the hosts closed the quarter on a 9-2 spurt to allow Western Carolina to take the 58-42 lead to the final 10 minutes.
UNCG (14-8, 3-4 SoCon) came out fast in the fourth quarter with the first six points of the quarter to trim the WCU lead to 10, 58-48 before a 7-3 WCU run allowed the Catamounts to extend the lead back out to 65-51 with 5:48 to play.
The Spartans continued to push back with an 8-3 run to cut the deficit to nine, 68-59, but the Catamounts continued to answer with the following six points to take the 74-59 lead with 1:43 to play. UNCG had one final push left, posting 10 straight points to cut the deficit to five, 74-69, and again at 76-71 inside the final 30 seconds. WCU was able to seal the win, though, with four late free throws to claim the 78-71 SoCon victory.
The Catamounts posted a 63.6% (28-of-44) shooting performance, while the Spartans held 37.3% (28-of-75) in the contest. UNCG doubled up WCU in three-pointers, with six for the guests and three for the hosts. Western Carolina went 19-of-25 (76%) as UNCG posted 9-of-14 (64.3%) from the charity stripe. WCU controlled the glass by nine, 38-29, with UNCG claiming 19 offensive boards. The Catamounts won the points in the paint battle, outscoring the guests 44-38, while UNCG had a 21-7 advantage on second-chance points and a 24-16 lead in bench scoring.
The Catamounts open the second half of SoCon play on Thursday, February 8, at 11 a.m. with a trip to Spartanburg to battle Wofford. The matchup with the Terriers will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats available on CatamountSports.com and live audio on Catamount Sports Network.
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