Cullowhee, N.C. - There's no rest for the weary in Southern Conference play as the Western Carolina women's basketball team is back in action against the Mercer Bears on Saturday afternoon in the front half of a home hoops doubleheader with the men's team. WCU hosts VMI in the second game of the twin bill with an anticipated tip-off of 3:30 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to Wear Pink to the women's game on Saturday in support of National Cancer Prevention Month and raising awareness for breast cancer, and all other forms of the disease. Western Carolina also looks to "Pack the RAC" with the attendance promotion, while also honoring the University's long-standing relationship with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on a special EBCI Day on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center.
Saturday's game will be available on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with a free live audio broadcast available through the Catamount Sports Network and live stats online at CatamountSports.com.
The Catamounts (11-10, 1-5 SoCon) enter the weekend after falling to the Samford Bulldogs in a double-overtime thriller on Thursday night in Cullowhee, while the Bears (6-15, 1-5 SoCon) endured a frigid shooting night in falling to the SoCon's top defensive unit, UNCG 70-37 in Greensboro.
Saturday's Women's Basketball Matchup:
Western Carolina (11-10, 1-5 SoCon) vs Mercer (6-15, 1-5 SoCon)
Feb. 1, 2025, | Ramsey Center | Cullowhee, N.C. | 1 p.m.
Watch (ESPN+):
https://tinyurl.com/35sxc787
Listen (CSN):
https://tinyurl.com/8c642zsk
Live Stats:
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Tickets:
https://tinyurl.com/3amwascv
Full Court Press – About the Teams:
The Catamounts and Bears meet on the hardwood for the 30th time in series history and for the 25th time as SoCon foes. WCU trails in the all-time series, having dropped 28 of the previous 29 series meetings with the lone victory coming in the Ramsey Center in 2020. Mercer took both matchups last season, including a 76-62 decision in Cullowhee.
The two teams only shared a single opponent in the nonconference slate in the UNC Asheville Bulldogs. Both teams took double-digit victories over the Big South opponent as Mercer claimed a 75-52 win in Macon. WCU earned its victory on the road in a 77-64 matchup in Asheville.
Both teams have played the other six SoCon teams on their schedule and share matching 1-5 records in those games. The Catamounts earned a 64-60 win over ETSU in Cullowhee in their second conference matchup of the season, while Mercer eked out a 56-53 home win over Samford thanks to late free throws by Nahawa Diarra and Kayla Smith.
Players to Watch:
The Catamount offense was paced by the Southern Conference's leading scorer
AC Carter in Thursday's home loss to Samford. The Georgia Tech graduate transfer posted a career-high 26 points against the Bulldogs. She has scored a league-best 317 points and is the only player to surpass the 300-point plateau to date. When looking at just conference play, Carter's points per game average goes up from 15.1 in all games to 17.0 against only SoCon foes, with 102 of her points coming in WCU's six conference games.
Tyja Beans shook off a tough first half against Samford to come away with 18 points in the double overtime loss, a career-high against a SoCon team for the sophomore. She currently leads the conference in rebounds per game with 8.6 and is third in points per game with 12.7
Three Catamounts played over 40 minutes in the double overtime loss Thursday with
AC Carter and
Jada Burton recording 48 minutes of action apiece.
Chelsea Wooten saw the floor for 45 minutes and Beans nearly hit the 40-minute mark, earning 39 minutes of play.
Transfer post Ariana Bennett is the only Bear to average double-digit scoring this season, coming into Saturday's game with a 10.5 mark. However, in league play, the Bears are led offensively by Talia Harris and Nahawa Diarra who average 10.8 and 10.5 points, respectively. Mercer does boast a pair of triple-digit rebounders in the lone returner for first-year head coach Michelle Clark-Heard, Ashlee Locke with 132 boards (6.6 per game) and Ariana Bennet, who has boarded 101 to date.
Veteran First-Year Coaches Square-Off:
Saturday's game pits two of the three first-year head coaches in the Southern Conference facing off on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. And though are considered first-year skippers, both have extensive coaching resumes that include coach of the year honors.
Michelle Clark-Heard is a 26-year coaching veteran with head coaching stops at Kentucky State (2005-07), her alma mater Western Kentucky (2012-18) where she orchestrated a 13-game turnaround; at Cincinnati (2018-23), while also having served on the bench at Nebraska, Louisville, and Mississippi State.
Jonathan Tsipis came to Cullowhee after serving on staff at Marquette and has head coaching experience at George Washington and Wisconsin, while also an assistant coach at Notre Dame and Marquette.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
WCU starts its second round through the SoCon schedule on Feb. 6, traveling to mountain-rival ETSU to face the Bucs on Feb. 6. Tip-off of the midweek league game is 7 p.m. in Brooks Gymnasium. The squad's Tennessee swing keeps the Purple & Gold on the road on Feb. 8 to take on Chattanooga at 2 p.m. in The McKenzie Arena in the Scenic City. WCU returns home to host Wofford on Feb. 13 at 6 p.m.
