Cullowhee, N.C. – The Western Carolina women's basketball team is back in home action for the first time since Jan. 24 as the Catamounts welcome a pair of Palmetto State Southern Conference rivals to Ingles Court at the Ramsey Center for two regionally-televised home games.
The Catamounts host the Furman Paladins on Thursday (Feb. 12) for a 6 p.m. tip, with fans encouraged to wear white as WCU looks to "White Out Ramsey," before entertaining the Wofford Terriers on Saturday (Feb. 14) at 2 p.m. in the annual "Pink" game, raising breast cancer awareness.
Thursday's game will be broadcast along the Nexstar family of stations as part of the SoCon's package deal, and can be seen across western North Carolina and the upstate of South Carolina on WYCW, TheCW 62. Saturday's game will air on South Carolina Education TV (SCETV) as part of the SoCon's arrangement with the public broadcasting affiliate
WCU (3-20, SoCon 0-9) rides into the home week looking for its first win of SoCon play, with the Paladins (14-10, SoCon 6-3) and the Terriers (12-11, SoCon 6-3) tied for second in the conference standings. Wofford is set to take on UNCG in Greensboro on Feb. 12 before making the trip to Cullowhee on the 14.
In addition to the linear television broadcasts, both games will be livestreamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with a live audio broadcast available through the Catamount Sports Network for Thursday's game, as well as live stats through CatamountSports.com
Thursday's Matchup:
Western Carolina (3-20, SoCon 0-9) vs Furman (14-10, SoCon 6-3)
Feb. 12, 2026 | Ingles Court at The Ramsey Center | 6 p.m. | Cullowhee, N.C.
Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/2vw66pn4
Watch (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/j8ny2xez
Listen (CSN): https://tinyurl.com/mvjdwed
Live Stats: https://tinyurl.com/ypvr7ssp
Saturday's Matchup:
Western Carolina (3-20, SoCon 0-9) vs Wofford (12-11, SoCon 6-3)
Feb. 14, 2026 | Ingles Court at The Ramsey Center | 2 p.m. | Cullowhee, N.C.
Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/msx7hmy5
Watch (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/5n6j6wbh
Listen (CSN): https://tinyurl.com/4s7rb4s4
Live Stats: https://tinyurl.com/ypvr7ssp
Full Court Press:
The Catamounts and Paladins meet for the 97th time in program history, with Furman holding a 56-40 lead in the overall series. The Paladins took the first meeting between the two teams earlier this season in Greenville, erasing a 26-18 halftime deficit with 51 second-half points to earn a 69-38 win.
Furman is currently on a two-game slide in conference play, falling to Chattanooga (L, 62-54) and ETSU (L, 58-55) at home. Prior to the two-game losing skid, the Paladins had won four straight SoCon matchups, three of which were decided by double figures.
On Saturday, WCU and Wofford meet for the 67th time in series history, with the Catamounts holding a 36-30 lead over the Terriers. However, Wofford has won seven straight matchups in the series, including holding off the Catamounts for a 71-65 decision in Spartanburg earlier this season. The Catamounts held an 11-point lead in the third quarter, but were outscored 31-14 to close the game as the Terriers clawed back for the win.
The Terriers enter the week after putting a blemish on Chattanooga's previously undefeated conference season, recording a 67-63 win over the Mocs Saturday in Spartanburg. The win over Chattanooga paused a two-game skid with losses to Furman (L, 65-64) and ETSU (L, 61-57). Of Wofford's six SoCon wins, five have been decided by six or fewer points.
Players to Watch:
Tina Bowers has been an effective scorer for the Catamounts recently, posting double digits in two of her last three games. The freshman is currently leading the team in field goal percentage (46.2%) and 3-point percentage (60%) in SoCon play and ranks fourth on the team in points per game (7.7) against SoCon foes. Senior post Grace Pack was effective for the Catamounts in their game against Samford last week, going for a first-half double-double and finishing with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Clare Coyle leads the Furman offense as the 6-1 forward currently tops the SoCon charts in field goals made (144-of-271, 53.1%), and rebounds (220). She posted a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double in WCU's previous meeting with Furman. Alyssa Ervin led the Paladins in scoring in that matchup, going for 17 points in Greenville.
Wofford is led by a pair of offensive stars in freshman Gabby Mundy and junior post Queen Ikhiuwu. The duo averages 15.3 and 14.0 points per game, respectively, and are both shooting over 40 percent from the floor this season. Ikhiuwu also ranks fourth in the SoCon in rebounding, pulling down 7.2 boards per game.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
WCU returns to the road as the Catamounts face league-leading Chattanooga (Feb. 19) and ETSU (Feb. 21) to close out the road portion of its schedule. The Catamounts then return home to host UNCG on Feb. 28 as part of a regular-season-ending doubleheader with the men's team ahead of the 2026 Ingles SoCon Basketball Championships in Asheville.
