Cullowhee, N.C. – Zanoria Cruz went for 20 points and Tyja Beans scored her sixth double-double of the season as the Western Carolina women's basketball team battled back into the win column with a 64-60 victory Sunday afternoon over the East Tennessee State Buccaneers in Southern Conference action on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.

The win snapped a six-game series slide in the mountain rivalry and propels WCU to 11-6 on the year and 1-0 in SoCon play, while the Bucs fall to 9-9 and 0-2 in the league schedule.  

Beans put the Catamounts up by a point with 2:25 remaining in the first quarter and WCU never looked back in holding the advantage through the final horn. The Catamounts thwarted a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Blue Ridge rival that trimmed the lead to as little as one with 21 seconds to play on the way to securing the first league victory for head coach Jonathan Tsipis.

Western Carolina saw four Catamounts record double-digit scoring days led by Cruz who continued her strong play, posting her second 20-point game of the season. She was followed in the scoring order by Beans with 13 points, Jada Burton added 12, and AC Carter finished with 11 in the winning effort. Five Catamounts collected at least four rebounds in the conference victory with Beans leading the effort on the glass with 11.

ETSU had a pair of double-digit scorers as both seasonal leaders Courtney Moore and Braylyn Milton finished with 13 points apiece. Kendall Folley chipped in eight points while Meghan Downing led the Bucs with seven rebounds, two on the offensive end.

The Bucs claimed the first lead of the day with an early three ball by Folley, striking just nine seconds into the game. The Catamounts earned their first points courtesy of Cruz, who converted an "and-one" opportunity to tie it early. The conference foes jockeyed for position early as neither team could put more than three points worth of distance between the other until the final minute of the quarter when Cruz briefly stretched the Catamount lead to five. ETSU's Lucy Hood struck from deep in the closing seconds of the period, but the home team held 17-15 lead after one.  

WCU began applying pressure in the second quarter, building its lead to as many as nine while capitalizing on an struggling Bucs offense, which shot a game-low 31.25% in the quarter. The Catamounts received contributions from beyond the arc from unlikely sources as Beans knocked down her first successful 3-pointer since the road loss at Oklahoma and Jada Burton made her first since the road win over Presbyterian. Burton's three and a follow-up layup by Beans put the Catamounts ahead by nine with 2:53 to go in the half. ETSU recorded the final made shot of the half as Milton got the layup to go with 1:13 left, resulting in a 32-35 lead for WCU at the break.

The Catamounts were unable to establish any more distance from ETSU in the third quarter, but the Bucs couldn't chip into the lead as both teams recorded 16 total points in the frame. WCU did start heating up from the free throw line, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe in the quarter. Moore did most of her damage in the third, picking up eight of the team's 16 points, though a balanced Catamount attack with contributions from all five starters stemmed the tide.  

Cruz converted a layup with 6:21 to play in regulation that gave WCU a 10-point lead in the fourth – its first double-digit advantage – but the persistent Bucs attack chipped away at the deficit. Pressing more with its zone full-court coverage, ETSU eventually closed to with one point with 3:05 to go. However, the Catamounts finished 9-for-10 from the free-throw line down the stretch to finish-off the 64-60 victory. 

Catamount Notables: 

• Zanoria Cruz posted 20 points in the win, her fourth consecutive game with at least 15 points. She's the only Catamount to record 20 points in two games this season, last hitting the benchmark against Southern Wesleyan;
• Tyja Beans recorded her sixth double-double of the season, going for 13 points and 11 rebounds in the four-point victory. She's tied with Samford's Emily Bowman for the most double-doubles in the conference this season;
• The Catamounts outrebounded ETSU 41-27. The 14-board differential is the most for the Catamounts in an NCAA Division I game this season and the most allowed by the Bucs against a non-P4 team this year;
• WCU went 17of-20 from the free-throw line in the four-point win. The 17 free throws made are tied for the second most this season and the .850 percentage is the fourth-best in a game for the Catamounts this season;
• Conversely, ETSU finished just 7-of-16 from the line in the 64-60 loss. Their free throw percentage of .438 is the lowest by a Catamount opponent this season;
• Sunday's home victory was the first for the Catamounts over ETSU in Cullowhee since 2013.

Up Next for The Catamounts: 

The first road trip of the conference season awaits as the Catamounts head to South Carolina to face the Furman Paladins and the Wofford Terriers. WCU faces the Paladins in their temporary home of North Greenville's Hayes Gym on January 16 before heading to Spartanburg to take on the Terriers on January 18.