CULLOWHEE, NC – Western Carolina’s Ashley Pellom and Emily Clarke were both in double figures as the Lady Catamounts defeated UNC Greensboro, 66-53 in Southern Conference women’s basketball action on Saturday afternoon.
UNCG (3-13, 1-4 SoCon) was led by senior guard Kemena Brooks who tallied nine points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field. The Accokeek, MD native was 2-of-2 from the free throw line and extended her consecutive free throws made streak to 18. Gini Grimsley tallied six rebounds in the loss.
“This was a game of two halves,” said coach Lynne Agee. “Western went on an 11-2 run over the final two minutes of the first half that really hurt us but we managed to come out in the second half and outscore them by two points. We had some people that were able to get some things done for us in the paint which worked to our benefit.
We played hard and everyone gave effort each time they were on the floor but now we have to concentrate on sustaining our short term successes for the entire 40 minutes of a game.”
Western Carolina (11-5, 3-1 SoCon) was led by Pellom and Clark who had 10 and 11 points, respectively. Pellom was 4-of-7 from the floor while Clarke was 5-of-9 from the field. Pellom also contributed a game high seven rebounds.
UNCG shot 35.7 percent from the field on 21-of-60 shooting from the floor and recorded 37 rebounds in the loss. Western Carolina tallied 50 rebounds and shot 40.6 percent from the floor on 28-of-69 shooting.
Both teams came out sluggish to open the second half but WCU used three buckets to extend their lead to 44-24 at the first media timeout. UNCG picked up a little momentum with a bucket from Sharniece Wadelington and a three-pointer from Grimsley to cut the lead to 29-44 at the 13:21 mark.
The Spartans picked up several baskets from Jasmine Dixon and was able to get a few stops on the defensive end and used a 10-5 run after a media timeout to cut the lead to 63-46 including back-to-back buckets from Brooks. UNCG was able to get as close as 13 points but wouldn’t get any closer.
The Spartans got off to a fast start in the first half and opened up a 6-1 early lead and held the Lady Catamounts without a field goal through the game’s first 4:45 seconds before Pellom connected with a three-pointer to tie the game at 6-6 at the 15:13 mark.
The teams traded buckets for the next several possessions and with Western Carolina leading 18-14, UNCG used buckets from Kendra Smith and Lakiah Hyson, who made her first collegiate start, to keep the game tied at 18-18 at the 7:40 mark.
Western Carolina went on a 9-0 run to pull ahead 27-18 before a bucket from Gini Grimsley but the Catamounts closed the half with a 11-0 run to take a 38-22 lead into the break. UNCG shot 34.4 percent from the field in the first stanza and for the first time this season didn’t attempt a free throw.
The Spartans conclude their two-game road swing on Monday when they take on SoCon rival, Chattanooga. First tip is set for 7 pm at Chattanooga’s in McKenzie Arena.
AGATE
WESTERN CAROLINA 66, UNCG 53
UNCG (3-13, 1-4 SoCon)
BROOKS,Kemena 3-12 2-2 9; GIRSTAUTAITE,Agne 2-4 3-6 7;
FLOYD,Monique 3-4 1-2 7; DIXON,Jasmine 3-5 1-1 7; HYSON,Lakiah 3-11
0-0 6; WADELINGTON,S 2-6 2-3 6; GRIMSLEY,Gini 2-6 0-0 5;
SMITH,Kendra 2-2 0-2 4; CHAMBERLAIN,Meghan 1-20-0 2;
FRAZIER,Brittany 0-4 0-0 0; MULLINS,Ashley 0-0 0-0 0; LING,Ashley
0-40-0 0. Totals 21-60 9-16 53.
WESTERN CAROLINA (11-5, 3-1 SoCon)
CLARKE, Emily 5-9 1-2 11; PELLOM, Ashley 4-7 0-0 10; POWELL, Lauren
3-9 1-2 8; FEEMSTER, Kristen 4-6 0-0 8; CARROLL, Kendra 3-6 0-0 7;
DAWSON, Monique 2-10 2-5 7; EATON, Kendra 2-4 1-2 5; SWAYNE,
Heather 2-8 0-0 4; JOHNSON,Jessika 2-5 0-0 4; KEITH, Chevon 1-5 0-0
2. Totals 28-69 5-11 66.
Halftime: WCU 38-22; 3-point goals--UNCG 2-11 (BROOKS,Kemena 1-6; GRIMSLEY,Gini 1-3; HYSON,Lakiah 0-2), Western Carolina 5-14 (PELLOM, Ashley 2-3; CARROLL, Kendra 1-2; POWELL, Lauren 1-4; DAWSON, Monique 1-4; SWAYNE, Heather 0-1). Fouled out--UNCG-None, Western Carolina-EATON, Kendra. Rebounds--UNCG 37 (GRIMSLEY,Gini 6), Western Carolina 50 (PELLOM, Ashley 7). Assists--UNCG 6 (LING,Ashley 4), Western Carolina 13 (PELLOM, Ashley 5). Total fouls--UNCG19, Western Carolina 20. Technical fouls--UNCG-None, Western Carolina-None. A-1010
- UNCG -