Hilton Head Island, S.C. – Western Carolina sophomore Brie Mapanao carded an even-par final round on Tuesday to lead the Catamount side with a fifth-place finish at the 2024 Southern Conference Women's Golf Championship which concluded at Moss Creek Golf Club's par-72, 6,036-yard South course. WCU finished tied for sixth as a team with a three-round total of 915.
 
The 915 turned in by the WCU scoring five this week is the lowest for the program at the conference championship since 2015 and marks WCU's third-lowest, 54-hole score at the SoCon Championship all time. This year's three-round score also marked the lowest for WCU in the 10 years that the champion-crowning tournament has been held at the Moss Creek Golf Club.
 
Mapanao opened Tuesday's final 18 holes with eight consecutive pars before closing the front nine with the first of two bogeys carded on the day. The Australian-born striker was 1-over par through 12 holes before charting back-to-back birdies on the par-4 13th and par-5 14th to move to 1-under par and to inside the individual top three. However, Mapanao bogeyed the par-4 18th for the first time in the tournament to close the round at even-par and at 3-over 219 for the event.
 
Tuesday's fifth-place finish was Mapanao's second top 10 showing at the conference championship in as many years after placing in a tie for 10th as a freshman in 2023.
 
Junior Elizabeth Lohbauer fired her best round of the three-day event on Tuesday with a 3-over par 75, maintaining her second-round standing in finishing in a tie for 15th. The product of Venice, Fla., birdied twice with four bogeys in a turbulent opening nine holes, making the turn for home at 2-over for the day. Lohbauer finished the day with eight pars and a fifth bogey in posting her 75.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five was Kayleigh Baker in a tie for 29th at 235, with Sadler Miller holding serve in 32nd with a three-day score of 237. Fifth-year senior Victoria Ladd came home 36th with a score of 241.
 
Baker collected her fifth birdie on her 52nd of 54 holes in closing her final collegiate round. Miller shot par on 12 of her final 18 holes, finishing with a final-round 79 with five bogeys and one double-bogey. The sophomore shot par on eight straight on the back nine before a bogey on the 18th. Eight-over par on the front nine, Ladd closed her career by shooting 1-under par with six pars and two birdies against one bogey.
 
ETSU shot a 2-over-par 290 in Tuesday's final round to move 13 strokes in front of Samford which moved past Furman into the runner-up spot as the Buccaneers claimed the team title at the 2024 SoCon Championship and clinched the SoCon's automatic berth into the NCAA regional. The Bucs led throughout the tournament on the way to claiming their second SoCon title – and first since 2021. ETSU's three-round 879 marked the third-best tournament score in the history of the SoCon Championship, while runner-up Samford's three-day 892 was the 10th-lowest total on record.  
 
ETSU finished with a three-day score of 879 with Samford (892) and Furman (902) in the top three. Mercer was fourth at 911 with Chattanooga fifth a stroke back at 912. WCU and UNCG (915) finished tied for sixth with Wofford (934) and The Citadel (1,012) placing eighth and ninth, respectively.
 
Furman's Anna Morgan equaled the fourth-lowest three-round score in tournament history en route to successfully defend her individual title after shooting a 2-under 214. She bested ETSU's Sophie Bert (216) by two strokes. Samford's Gabi Nicastro and Brianna Castaldi of ETSU finished tied for fourth, four strokes off the pace at 218 with Mapanao one back in fifth at 219.
  
The conclusion of the conference championship ends the 2023-24 season for the Western Carolina women's golf team. The Catamounts posted seven Top Five finishes during the year including a pair of tournament event team wins. Two Catamounts – Victoria Ladd and Kayleigh Baker – both finished their respective collegiate careers with Tuesday's final round.
 
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T6 – Western Carolina – 305 – 305 – 305 = 915 (+51)
5 – Brie Mapanao – 76 – 71 – 72 = 219 (+3)
T15 – Elizabeth Lohbauer – 77 -76 – 75 = 228 (+12)
T29 – Kayleigh Baker – 76 – 78 – 81 = 235 (+19)
32 – Sadler Miller – 78 – 80 – 79 = 237 (+21)
36 – Victoria Ladd – 76 – 86 – 79 = 241 (+25)