Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina women's basketball helps draw back the curtain on March Madness as the eighth-seeded Catamounts enter postseason play with a tournament-opening game against the top-seeded Chattanooga Mocs on Thursday, March 5. Tip-off in the first game of the 2026 Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Championship is set for 11 a.m. as part of Education Day at the Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville.
WCU's tournament opener will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with a free live streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network available online at CatamountSports.com.
Catamount fans in town for the tournament will gather ahead of WCU's tournament opener at the Early Girl Eatery (Asheville-Downtown, 8 Wall St.) on Thursday at 9 a.m. before heading to the Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville. (Click HERE to RSVP)
Western Carolina (3-25, SoCon 0-14) enters the tournament as the eighth seed for the fifth consecutive season. Chattanooga (18-9, SoCon 10-4) comes into the conference tournament as the top seed after emerging from a three-way tie for the regular-season championship with ETSU and Wofford.
Thursday's SoCon Quarterfinal Matchup:
No. 8 Western Carolina (3-25, 0-14 SoCon) vs No. 1 Chattanooga (18-9, 10-4 SoCon)
March 5, 2026 | Harrah's Cherokee Center | Asheville, N.C. | 11 a.m.
Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/mrjrpxur
Watch (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/4b49w9kx
Listen (CSN): https://tinyurl.com/4c6ysd8p
Live Stats: https://tinyurl.com/39knyawb
RSVP for Early Girl Eatery pregame event: https://tinyurl.com/y7f5nsph
Full Court Press:
The Catamounts and Mocs meet for the third time this season and the 104th time in the all-time series history. Of those 104 previous meetings, the two teams have met 13 times in the postseason, most recently in 2024. The Mocs won both regular-season meetings this year and all 13 of those postseason bouts, with WCU's last win over Chattanooga coming during the 2023 campaign.
WCU enters the conference tournament as the No. 8 seed for the fifth time over the past five seasons, finishing 0-14 in the SoCon schedule. Five of those WCU's losses were decided by single digits, with the closest loss being a six-point defeat at Wofford.
Chattanooga secured a share of the SoCon regular-season crown, tying ETSU and Wofford in the final standings, earning the tournament's No. 1 seed. Splitting the three-way tie between the regular-season co-champions, the Mocs claimed the top seed by virtue of their 2-0 record against the No. 4 seed Furman. Chattanooga stumbled to the finish in the regular season, dropping consecutive road games with a 77-70 loss at Samford and a 68-55 defeat at Mercer. The Mocs pulled out a narrow two-point, 56-54, home win over UNCG among their last three outings.
Both teams held the other below their seasonal scoring averages in the two regular-season meetings, with Chattanooga averaging 56.5 points per game against the Catamounts and WCU mustering 44.0. The Chattanooga 3-point defense was potent against the Catamounts in the previous meetings, conceding only six made 3-pointers and holding WCU to 16.7% from range. Conversely, UTC found success with a high volume of longballs against the Catamounts, connecting on 16 3-pointers, but only at a 26.7% clip.
The Mocs found success on the glass against the Catamounts as well, outrebounding WCU 83-58 in the regular season. WCU averaged 29.0 boards per game in those two contests, down 5.8 from its seasonal margin of 34.8. Chattanooga, which averaged 36.7 rebounds per game, overperformed its seasonal average with 41.5 boards per game against the Catamounts.
Players to Watch:
Ally Hollifield and Taj Hunter led the Catamounts in scoring throughout the season, averaging 11.6 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. Hollifield also led the Catamounts in rebounding (139 | 5.0 RPG), assists (107), steals (60), and 3-pointers (49).
In the previous two meetings with Chattanooga, five Catamounts went for double figures as Ally Hollifield led the team with 22 points against the Mocs this season. Grace Pack went for 20 points between her two outings while Taj Hunter, Ary Dizon, and Tina Bowers chipped in 18, 10, and 10, respectively. Hollifield led the Catamounts on the glass against the Mocs, going for 11 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. However, WCU committed 35 turnovers against the Mocs, with 10 coming from Hollifield.
Chattanooga is led by the 2026 SoCon Player of the Year, Caia Elisaldez, who was also the preseason pick. The junior led the league in scoring with 442 total points on 164 made field goals, averaging a league-best 16.4 points per game. She garnered SoCon first-team honors along with 400-point teammate Gianna Corbitt, who also earned SoCon All-Defensive team honors with 221 rebounds.
Additionally, Izzy McPherson was named to the SoCon All-Freshman team, finishing with 194 points (7.2 ppg), 81 rebounds (3.0 rpg), 26 assists, 14 blocks, and 13 steals.
Elisaldez led the Mocs against the Catamounts in the two regular-season matchups, scoring 41 points, adding nine rebounds, and 10 assists. Both Elizaldez and Corbitt connected on over 50% of their shots against the Catamounts, with Corbitt going for 18 points and 19 rebounds.
Six Mocs posted double-digit scoring against the Catamounts this season, and four had double-figure rebounds as Chattanooga fielded a deep lineup throughout the year.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
Western Carolina vies to become the first No. 8 seed to pull the opening-round upset of a No. 1 seed since ETSU did so back in 2021. That Buccaneers squad also entered the postseason with three regular-season wins before upending top-seeded Samford, 68-61.
Should the Catamounts survive and advance, they would face the winner of the No. 4 Furman and No. 5 Mercer matchup in the semifinals, also scheduled as part of the tournament's Education Day on Friday, March 6, with an 11 a.m. start.
