Cullowhee, N.C. – After enjoying a midweek away from action, Western Carolina women's basketball team returns to action on Saturday afternoon, hosting instate Southern Conference rival UNC Greensboro. Tip-off against the Spartans is scheduled for 2 p.m. as the Catamounts look for their second conference win of the season, while the Spartans try to push for their second straight road win of the conference schedule.
Additionally, sixth-grade fans and younger are invited to participate in a special National Girls and Women in Sports Day youth clinic hosted pregame in WCU's auxiliary gym in the Ramsey Center from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Student-athletes from WCU's volleyball, women's golf, women's soccer, cheerleading, dance team, track & field, cross country, and softball teams will participate in the National Girls and Women in Sports Clinic, presented by First Bank.
The official National Girls & Women in Sports Day, powered by the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) is Saturday, Feb. 5, 2025. (womenssportsfoundation.org/get-involved/ngwsd).
Saturday afternoon's game will be live streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with access to live stats available at CatamountSports.com.
Saturday's Women's Basketball Matchup:
Western Carolina (11-8, 1-3 SoCon) vs. UNCG (12-6, 3-1 SoCon)
Jan. 25, 2025 | Ramsey Center | Cullowhee, N.C. | 2:00 p.m.
Watch (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/5b7z48ps
Live Stats: https://tinyurl.com/yzx5bwn4
Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/uyuk3dsz
Full Court Press:
The Catamounts and Spartans meet for the 84th time in series history with WCU holding a slim 42-41 lead overall. However, UNCG has won 12 of the last 14 in the series to chip away at the Catamount lead. The two schools split last season's matchups, both defending their home court as WCU claimed a 78-71 win in the Ramsey Center, but fell on the road, 61-54.
The two teams have seen six common opponents this season, though only two came in the non-conference schedule. Both schools went 2-0 against USC Upstate and UNC Asheville, though WCU's matchups both came on the road (80-52 at USC Upstate, 77-64 at UNCA) and UNCG defended their home court against the Big South foes (62-54 vs. USC Upstate, 59-48 vs. UNCA).
In the conference schedule, the two North Carolina system schools have already battled four common foes – Wofford, Furman, ETSU, and Chattanooga. Both teams recorded 64 points in home wins over the Bucs and fell to Wofford on the road, but UNCG earned victories against Chattanooga and Furman while the Catamounts were unable to come away with victories.
Players to Watch:
Grad transfer AC Carter rebounded offensively in WCU's road loss at Wofford, leading the Catamount offense with a career-high 23 points against the Terriers. She and Jada Burton combined for 37 of WCU's 53 total points in the road defeat and 13 of the team's 25 rebounds. Burton filled every part of the stat sheet in Spartanburg, contributing two assists a block, and a steal in the loss.
Last season's home matchup with UNCG saw WCU share the rock as five Catamounts recorded double-digit points, though Chelsea Wooten led the team's production with 17 on a highly efficient 6-of-7 outing from the floor including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Tyja Beans and Zanoria Cruz scored in double figures as well in last year's win, posting 13 and 11 points, respectively.
UNCG is led by Jayde Gamble, who is fourth in the conference in scoring at 12.2 points per game. She is one of only four players in the conference with an average north of a dozen points per outing, with Tyja Beans averaging 12.5 and AC Carter leading the conference with 14.3. Looking at just the conference season, freshman Nya Smith leads the team with 13.0 points per game.
Despite being second in the conference in rebounds per game as a team, Khalis Cain is the only Spartan with triple-digit boards on the season, collecting 118 so far. The Spartans share the wealth on the glass and have four individuals outside of Cain who have 50+ rebounds on the season.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
After facing the Spartans, WCU hits a stretch of uninterrupted play with six Southern Conference matchups on the traditional Thursday/Saturday swing. The Catamounts host the Samford Bulldogs for a 6 p.m. tip on Jan. 30 before the Mercer Bears come to Cullowhee for the women's half of a home doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 1.
WCU hits the road to begin wrapping back through the conference slate with trips to ETSU (Feb. 6) and Chattanooga (Feb. 8) before returning home to host Wofford (Feb. 13) and Furman (Feb. 15) for the final home doubleheader of the season.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's basketball and WCU Athletics through our social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@catamountwbb, @wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@CatamountWBB, and @catamounts).
