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 WCU head coach Beth Dunkenberger looks to lead her Catamounts to their first conference tournament win during her tenure. |
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March 1, 2004
WCU Southern Conference tournament notes in PDF Format
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Complete women's tournament bracket in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
Charleston, Here Come the Cats!
Western Carolina is in good position to make waves in this week's Southern Conference Championship. As the sixth seed in this year's tournament, the Catamounts will face 11th seeded Wofford (0-27, 0-20) in the late game Wednesday night (Mar. 3) at approximately 7:30 pm. With WCU not far removed from a season sweep of the Terriers after a 78-59 win last week in Spartanburg Western hopes to advance to the quarterfinals on Thursday. Should the Cats win that first game, they would face third-seeded Davidson (16-11, 13-7), which WCU also swept this season.
Go even one step further and the Catamounts could potentially wind up facing Furman (17-10, 14-6) in the semifinals on Friday. Western Carolina enjoyed a hard-fought 66-58 victory over the Paladins less than two weeks ago. Should Furman fall to either the College of Charleston or UNC Greensboro, the Catamounts like their chances there as well, taking both contests from the Cougars this season and spliting with the Spartans (both teams won on their home courts).
Last Time Out
First up for the Catamounts are the Wofford Lady Terriers. Although Wofford has yet to find a win this season, the team gave Western Carolina a run for its money in the second half of the first game this season and in the first half of the second contest. If there's one thing the Terriers excel at, it's knocking down the 3-point shot. In the Feb. 23 game in Spartanburg, WC nailed five treys in the opening period and had the lead on the Cats by as many as six points on a shot by Brie Bradshaw from downtown. Western, however, rebounded to take the 34-29 lead into the break and then came out strong in the second half to outscore the Terriers 44-30 to claim the 19-point win.
The Series
Today marks the 19th all-time meeting between the Catamounts and the Terriers in a series which dates back to just 1995. WCU now holds a 13-6 advantage in the series after sweeping Wofford for the second consecutive season. Western Carolina is 7-2 versus the Terriers at home, 5-3 on the road and 0-1 against Wofford at a neutral site.
On the Catamounts
Western Carolina is coming off of a tough home loss to archrival Appalachian State Saturday to close the Catamounts' regular-season. However, the Cats finished at 10-10 in the SoCon, marking the third straight year the team has headed into the tournament at .500 or better. This will also signal the fourth consecutive year that Western will enter the SoCon championship as the sixth-seeded team or higher. Senior Tiffany Hamm continues to lead the team and the league with 15.9 ppg and ranks second in the SoCon with 8.5 rpg. She additionally leads the conference with 6.33 defensive boards per game. Seniors Yoneko Allen and Christy Blackwell also rank among the league leaders in several categories with Allen sitting in second with 2.12 3-point field goals per game and Blackwell in second with 4.12 assists per contest.
On the Terriers
Wofford ranks at the bottom of the league in nearly every statistical category except for one: 3-point field goals per game. The Terriers are second on the list with 5.78 treys per contest. Leading the charge is Ricaye Harris who is third in the SoCon with 1.89 3-pointers per game. Freshman Jenny Weurding is fitting in nicely for the Terriers as she leads the team and is second in the league with 2.26 blocks per game.
Starters vs. Starters
Taking a closer look at WCU's probable starters versus Wofford's, Hamm, Gardner, Allen, Glass and Blackwell have combined to average 9.3 ppg and 4.5 rpg. Paul, Weurding, Yee, Harris and Correll have combined for 6.4 ppg and 3.1 rpg.
A Win Would...
A victory over Wofford would mark the first time since 1999 that Western Carolina would win a single tournament game. The Catamounts defeated College of Charleston that year before falling to East Tennessee State in the quarterfinals. A victory would additionally put the Cats in a face-off with Davidson in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.
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