Jan. 17, 2002
Cullowhee, N.C. - Kevin Martin and Laura Echols continue to rank among the NCAA basketball individual leaders (through Jan. 14), while the Western Carolina men's team ranks among the national leaders in scoring and field goal percentage.
Martin, a freshman from Zanesville, Ohio, ranks eighth in the NCAA men's statistics with his .918 free throw percentage. He has made 38 consecutive free throws to tie a WCU record and is one of only two players to shoot 100 percent at the line in SoCon action this season. Martin additionally ranks 12th nationally in scoring (22.2 ppg) and 29th (tied) in steals (2.4). He is only one of three freshman to be ranked among the nation's top 50 in scoring.
The men's team currently ranks 19th in scoring (81.4 ppg) and 25th in field goal percentage (.478). The Catamounts are averaging nearly 20 more points per game than last year and are shooting 50 percentage points over last season. Western has three players ranked among the SoCon leaders in field goal percentage. Kelvin Wylie (Rock Hill, S.C.) leads WCU and ranks third in the SoCon with a .602 percentage. Willie Freeman (Lithonia, Ga.) ranks fifth in the league with a .569 percentage and Martin ranks 12th with a .496 percentage. Sophomore Rans Brempong (Thorhill, Ontario) has also played a key role in WCU's field goal success, shooting 57.9 percent. However, the school's career leader in blocked shots fell just short of the league minimum of making three baskets per game.
Echols (Conyers, Ga.) is 13th in the NCAA women's statistics with her 20.8 scoring average. She ranks second in the Southern Conference in scoring, second in rebounds (8.8), third in field goal percentage (.531), fifth in blocked shots (0.87) and sixth in free throw percentage (.750). Echols, the SoCon's leading scorer last season, lost her grasp on the top scoring spot in the league this past week, despite scoring 29 points versus East Tennessee State and 22 versus College of Charleston and registering a double-double in four of her last six games. Wofford's Jenny Nett now leads the league and ranks 12th nationally (21.4 ppg), averaging 29.8 ppg over her past five games.
Both the WCU women's and men's team host games in the RAC on Saturday (Jan. 19). The women will face Appalachian State at 2 pm, while the men will play defending SoCon Tournament Champion UNC Greensboro at 7 pm.
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