CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball opens the second half of Southern Conference play on Thursday with an 11 a.m. start against Wofford from Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C. The matchup with the Terriers will be shown on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with live stats and live audio provided by the Catamount Sports Network available on CatamountSports.com.
Matchup: Western Carolina (6-16, 1-6 SoCon) at Wofford (13-8, 5-2 SoCon)
Date: Thursday, February 8
Time: 11 a.m.
Site: Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (Spartanburg, S.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: Watch ESPN
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
Twitter: @CatamountWBB
GAME NOTES
Western Carolina looks for back-to-back wins on Thursday coming off of a 78-71 victory over UNCG on Saturday in Cullowhee. The Catamounts used a red-hot shooting performance and five double-figure scorers to down the Spartans. 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.
Wooten sits in a tie for seventh in the league averaging 11.4 points per game and is 10th in league play, scoring 11.1 points per game. Wooten sits atop the league in 3-pointers with 52 made threes – 15 coming in SoCon play – and a conference-high 2.5 made threes per game.
Jada Burton ranks third in the SoCon with 82 assists as one of three players in the league to have at least 80 assists on the season. Burton comes into play on Thursday fourth in league play with 20 helpers. She is also seventh in the league with a team-high 29 steals.
Wofford enters Thursday's action with a 13-8 record as the Terriers have claimed victories in five of their last six contests including a 77-65 victory on Saturday over ETSU. Wofford has protected its home court in the 2023-24 season, posting a 10-1 record which includes wins in five straight home contests.
The Terriers are led by seven-time SoCon Player of the Week recipient and preseason Player of the Year Rachael Rose, who leads the SoCon at 21.7 points per game. She's scored in double-figures in all 21 games this season including 15 20+ point performances. Rose sits atop the league in scoring in conference play, averaging 25.1 points per game against league foes this season.
Rose's season-high came in Cullowhee with 33 points, adding six rebounds, and six assists. She leads the league with 9.0 rebounds per game which includes eight double-doubles and a triple-double. The Terriers junior is the lone player in the league with 100+ assists, tallying 119 on the the season. Maddie Heiss is second on the team in scoring with 11.3 points per game, and both Evangelia Paulk and Annabelle Schultz are averaging nine points per contest.
The Catamounts and Terriers meet for the 63rd time on Thursday with WCU holding a 36-26 edge in the all-time series. Wofford has claimed each of the past three head-to-head meetings which includes a 75-56 decision on January 13 in Cullowhee. In four career games against the Terriers, senior Mya Love has averaged 11.8 points per game as she eclipsed double-figures in three of four games with a top of 15 against Wofford last month.
Following Thursday's action in Spartanburg, the Catamounts continue in the Palmetto State on Saturday, February 10, at 2 p.m. with a trip to Greenville to battle Furman. The matchup with the Paladins 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).
