Chattanooga, Tenn. -- The Western Carolina women's basketball team enjoyed a record-setting performance at the free throw line against the Chattanooga Mocs, but ultimately fell in the road contest 74-59.
AC Carter tied Chattanooga's Caia Elisadelz for the game-high in points with 18 apiece as five players broke double-figure scoring totals in the matchup. UTC's Sigrun Olafsdottir scored 16 points while WCU's second-leading scorer was Tyja Beans with 13.
Neither team found their footing offensively early in the game as UTC's Karsen Murphy and Jada Burton recorded the first points for their respective teams on a pair of 3-pointers with 7:00 to go in the opening quarter. The Mocs then capitalized on the early momentum, downing two more longshots and a layup to take an 11-3 lead with 3:30 to go. Carter broke up the run with her first points of the day before Grace Pack went 3-for-3 at the line after being fouled by Elisadelz on the perimeter. Chattanooga closed the quarter on another 8-0 run to carry a 20-8 lead into the second quarter.
The Catamount offense came to life in the second stanza with a team-high 22 points to close out the half. Carter, Beans, and Burton contributed the lion's share of the offensive effort, and Nicole Azar went sank both of her free throw attempts as the Catamounts chipped at the deficit. Neither team strung together more than two consecutive scoring possessions with the largest run of the period being 5-0 for both teams. Burton hit the final shot of the half, knocking down a jumper at the buzzer to make it a 37-30 score in favor of the Mocs.
Chattanooga responded to WCU's 22-point second quarter with a 27-point third, eventually commanding a 20-point advantage late in the quarter. Carter recorded the first nine points of the frame for the Catamounts as she tried to keep pace with the Mocs. A pair of free throws by Carter made it an eight-point game with 6:34 left in the third, but Chattanooga then rolled a 19-to-9 run to close out the quarter, taking a 64-46 lead into the final frame.
The two teams were sluggish out of the gates in the fourth as the two squads combined for just six points at the under-five media timeout. Karsen Murphy and Taj Hunter traded free throws before the Catamounts put together a 9-0 run throughout a two-minute span. Five of the nine points came from Azar to trim it to a 14-point deficit with 1:30 to go, but a final made free throw by UTC's Takia Davis with under a minute left resulted in the final score of 74-59.
Catamount Notables:
- WCU went a perfect 18-for-18 at the free throw line, their second consecutive game shooting 100% from the charity stripe ... It is only the fourth time in program history that the Catamounts have shot 100% at the line and the 18 made shots are the most by the team in those games (11 at ETSU | 2/6/25; 12 at Campbell | 12/14/15; 13 vs NC A&T | 1/27/81)
- The 18-for-18 performance is only the eighth perfect team free throw game of the season in the NCAA and is tied for the third most makes in those games … (the NCAA requires a minimum of 15 attempts);
- AC Carter was the team's leading scorer with 18 points and five rebounds. It is her 16th game of at least 10 points and five rebounds and her sixth consecutive game hitting those benchmarks.
- Tyja Beans was the team's second-leading scorer with 13 points and a team-leading six rebounds. Similarly to Carter, she recorded her fifth consecutive game with at least 10 points and five rebounds.
- Nicole Azar went for 7 points in the road defeat, tying her WCU career high against a Southern Conference opponent. Her seven points are the most since she went for 17 against Southern Wesleyan.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
WCU is back home Thursday, Feb. 13 to host the Wofford Terriers with a 6 p.m. tip. The Catamounts then close out the home season on Feb. 15 as they face the Furman Paladins at 1 p.m. in their half of the final doubleheader of the season.
The Catamounts are back on the road Saturday, Feb. 22 visiting UNC Greensboro at 2 p.m.
