Cullowhee, N.C. – Chelsea Wooten lifted Western Carolina to a 13-point fourth quarter lead with her second 3-pointer of the game early in the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon on Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center. However, the Mercer Bears mounted a furious fourth-quarter rally to claim an 71-66 win over the Catamounts as the two teams finished their first run through the Southern Conference schedule.

AC Carter posted her fourth double-double of the season with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead three Catamounts in double figures. The double-dip was Carter's first since a 15-point, 10-board effort against Southern Wesleyan. She was joined in double figures by Tyja Beans with a dozen points while Zanoria Cruz came off the bench with 10 points and a team-best eight rebounds.

Mercer (7-15, 2-5 SoCon) had four Bears score in double-figures with Nahawa Diarra leading the way with 18 points and eight rebounds. She was joined by post Arianna Bennet with 15 points, while Kayla Smith and Ashlee Locke both scored 13. Locke added five rebounds, six assists, and four blocked shots.

Though the Bears scored Saturday's first point on a Bennett free throw, the Catamounts answered emphatically, racing out to an 11-3 lead. Mercer called an early timeout and regrouped by scoring the next six points to cut the deficit to two. Cruz split the run with a layup, but Mercer forced turnovers on three consecutive WCU possessions to take an 18-15 lead. Ionna Stefanki hit the final shot of the quarter, giving the Bears a 20-15 advantage going into the second quarter.  

The Mercer lead grew to as many as seven points after Bennett sank two free throws halfway through the quarter, but the Catamounts continued to chip away at the deficit before the break. Carter did much of the heavy lifting to close out the half, going on a 9-0 spurt on her own to put the Catamounts back ahead 31-29 going into halftime. Defensively, WCU held the Bears to only nine points in the quarter, only allowing three made shots in the frame.

Wooten set the tone for the Catamounts out of the halftime locker room, adding a deep three to WCU's total and building the lead to five. Mercer's Kayla Smith responded, though, with a three of her own to make it a 34-32 game in WCU's favor before a scoring drought hit both teams. Neither squad hit a shot until Talia Harris tied it at 34-34 for the Bears with 5:44 to go.

The remainder of the quarter belonged to the Catamounts and Taj Hunter. WCU outscored the visitors 14-to-4 down the stretch to carry a 48-38 lead into the final quarter of play. Hunter rattled off seven of WCU's points in the run on consecutive Catamount buckets before Beans and Carter went 2-for-2 from the line to close out the run. 

Wooten again gave WCU momentum early in the fourth, hitting a 3-pointer to give the Catamounts their largest lead of the game at 13 with 9:36 to go. Mercer scored six-straight points to cut into the lead before Cruz responded with a tough layup inside and hit her free throw to put WCU back up 10 after the and-one opportunity. Mercer again chipped at the deficit, but Tyja Beans made a tough bucket herself to take a nine-point lead with 5:36 to play.  

The Bears would then outscore WCU (11-11, 1-6 SoCon) 24-to-10 down the stretch. Mercer tied the game at 57 after a Nahawa Diarra free throw with 3:33 to play, but Carter gave WCU the lead on the next possession. Diarra tied it again with a pair of free throws, but a brief Catamount spark gave WCU a 64-59 advantage with 1:54 left.

The game was again tied by Diarra, capitalizing on a turnover and draining a deep shot before she gave the Bears the lead for the final time with 24 seconds remaining. Beans hit the final shot of the game for WCU to make it a one-possession game at 68-66, but Mercer secured the 71-66 win with three free throws from Diarra and Smith. 

Catamount Notables: 

• AC Carter went for 21 points against Mercer, her fourth 20+ point game of the season and third in the last four games … Carter has recorded double figures in 17 of her last 18 games; 
• Carter additionally recorded her fourth double-double of the season, picking up 10 rebounds;
• As a team, the Catamounts fell to 1-6 in conference play, though five of those losses have come by 10 or fewer points;
• Mercer came into the weekend shooting around 25% from beyond the arc on the season – but managed to hit 5-of-13 on Saturday, shooting 38.5% from range in the win;

Up Next for The Catamounts: 

WCU returns to the road on Thursday, Feb. 6, traveling to Johnson City, Tenn., to face mountain-rival East Tennessee State in a 7 p.m. tip. The Catamounts then take on the Chattanooga Mocs on Feb. 8 in Chattanooga, with tip-off at 2 p.m. 

The Catamounts return home to face the Wofford Terriers on Feb. 13 before hosting the Furman Paladins on Feb. 15.