Cullowhee, N.C. -- Western Carolina women's basketball is back in action Thursday night, on the road visiting the Mercer Bears. Tip for the penultimate Southern Conference matchup of the season is set for 7 p.m. at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Ga.
Thursday's game will be available on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), and live stats links will be available online at CatamountSports.com.
The Catamounts come into the road matchup after being edged by the 2025 SoCon regular-season champion UNC Greensboro in a scrappy 57-53 loss. Mercer is amidst a five-game losing skid with four of those matchups being decided by a single possession including a 65-64 loss to Wofford in Spartanburg last time out.
Thursday's Women's Basketball Matchup:
Western Carolina (12-15, 2-10 SoCon) at Mercer (7-20, 2-10)
Feb. 27, 2025, | Hawkins Arena | Macon, Ga. | 7 p.m.
Watch (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/y7xkxaw8
Live Stats: https://tinyurl.com/k3z4urvc
Full Court Press – About the Teams:
The Catamounts and Bears battle it out for the 31st time on the women's basketball hardwood in a series that WCU trails with just one win over the 30 all-time meetings. The lone Catamount victory over Mercer came during the 2019-20 season with a 51-40 home win. Propelled by a 30-point fourth quarter, Mercer overcame a 13-point deficit to claim the first meeting between the two 71-66 in Cullowhee earlier this season.
The two squads both faced the UNC Asheville Bulldogs in the nonconference slate, their only shared opponent before conference play began. Both teams took double-digit victories over the Big South representative as the Bears opened the season with a 75-52 home rout, while the Catamounts claimed a 77-64 road win over their mountain rival.
Both teams have had similar Southern Conference schedules, posting a pair of wins in the 12 previous games against conference opponents this season. The Catamounts have home wins over ETSU (64-60) and Furman (70-57) while the Bears have a home win over Samford (56-53) and the road victory at WCU (71-66).
The Catamounts have had their fair share of close losses in conference play as seven of their 10 defeats have been by single digits. Mercer has seven losses by double digits, but four of their last five defeats have been decided by three points or fewer.
Players to Watch:
Tyja Beans and AC Carter led the Catamounts with 14 points apiece in Western Carolina's 57-53 loss in Greensboro last weekend. The two were the only Catamounts to break double-figures in the game with Beans chipping in six rebounds. SoCon assist leader Jada Burton dished out eight helpers, her second most-in conference play, bringing her total to 141 on the year.
Carter remains the SoCon scoring leader as the grad transfer is the only student-athlete to average more than 14 points per game in the league, sitting evenly at 15.0 per outing. She broke the 400-point barrier against UNCG, entering the week with 406 on the season, 59 more than the second-highest scorer Tate Walters (347). Beans is currently the third-highest scorer in the conference, with 342 points, and has the second-highest field goal percentage at 55.5%.
Zanoria Cruz joined Carter and Beans in double-digit scoring totals in the first round against Mercer earlier this season, going for 10 points and eight rebounds. Chelsea Wooten scored nine points and three steals in the home loss.
Mercer is led offensively by Ariana Bennett and Nahawa Diarra, who average 10.9 and 9.6 points per game respectively. Diarra leads the team with 12.0 points per game in the conference season, with Bennett posting 10.9 against SoCon opposition. Ashlee Locke leads the team on the boards as the 6'3 senior has 163 rebounds.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
WCU remains on the road to close out the 2024-25 regular season as they take on the Samford Bulldogs in Birmingham on March 1. Tip for the regular season finale is set for 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT. The Catamounts head to Asheville for the 2025 Ingles Southern Conference Basketball tournament which runs through March 6-9.
