March 20, 2006
Cullowhee, N.C. - For the 2005-06 edition of the Western Carolina Lady Catamounts, two words rang true: Youth and Maturation. Anyone who followed the youthful Cats, whose roster boasted just one senior, two juniors, and nine underclassmen - including five freshmen, could see both words personified.
Entering the second season under head coach Kellie Harper as the defending Southern Conference tournament champions, WCU looked like a shell of its former self, opening the season 0-9, the worst start in school history. Two factors weighed heavily in that start, though -- losing five starting seniors off the championship squad, including All-SoCon performer and tourney MVP Jennifer Gardiner and all-tournament selections Lori Tanner and Sigita Maleraite; and the caliber of competition scheduled by the coaching staff. In retrospect, three of WCU's opponents during the season went on to make the NCAA Field of 64: Michigan State was a #4 seed; Florida State was a #6 seed; and SoCon foe, Chattanooga -- who the Lady Cats nearly beat twice, was a #12.
But Western weathered the storm, garnering its first victory on New Year's Eve at Wofford, notching its first victory ever on the final day of the year. The Lady Catamounts would make a run, entering the final weeks of the season with an outside chance of finishing third in the SoCon -- they wound up fifth in the final standings and earned a first-round bye in the SoCon tournament and came within seconds of upsetting top-seeded -- and unbeaten in league play -- Chattanooga in the SoCon tournament.
Hopes and expectations for 2006-07 are already high. Western will open practice in the fall of 2006, practically returning an entire squad from this season. WCU will also welcome Carson-Newman transfer, Brooke Johnson, to the team once she is eligible following fall exams in December, and two freshmen -- Kristen Feemster (Clover HS/Clover, S.C.) and Heather Swayne (Wakefield HS/Raleigh, N.C.)
2005-06 Western Carolina Season Highlights:
* Western Carolina head coach Kellie Harper currently has won 27 games as a head coach during her two-year tenure at WCU;
* Western recorded the largest margin of victory in the Kellie Harper tenure -- a 33-point defeat of the College of Charleston in Cullowhee on February 20th (98-65);
* Freshman Lauren Powell earned Southern Conference Freshman of the Year accolades ... she was also named to the All-Southern Conference second team, giving WCU a player on the honorary squad for the seventh-straight year; Powell's selection to the SoCon All-Freshman team was Western's fifth in the past six seasons;
* Powell earned all-tournament honors at the Seminole Classic;
* Powell and Dawson earned Catamount Student-Athlete of the Month accolades for December and January, respectively;
* With official records on-hand dating back into the late 1980s, freshman Lauren Powell became the first rookie to lead the Lady Catamounts in scoring in the last 16 years;
* Sophomore Monique Dawson was voted to the SoCon All-Tournament team marking the 12th Lady Catamount to earn that distinction and giving WCU someone on the squad for the third-straight year;
* Sophomore point guard Ashley Pellom dished out 105 assists -- just two shy of tying for the 10th best single-season in the WCU record books; Pellom has 157 career helpers and is just 55 dishes shy of cracking the WCU career top 10; Also, her 2.62 assist per game average after her second season ranks tied for 9th on the career charts;
* Freshman Lauren Powell made 64, 3-pointers this season marking the fourth-best, single-season in the WCU record books ... her 151 attempts ranks as the sixth-most in a season; the 64 career treys ranks Powell eighth on the WCU career charts, 116 made 3's shy of first ... the 151 attempts are 52 shy of cracking the career top 10 list; Powell's 2.2 3FGM average per game ranks tied for fourth on the seasonal charts and second on the career charts after one season;
* Sophomore Chevon Keith has recorded 371 career rebounds in two seasons as a guard/forward ... she is 298 boards shy of cracking the WCU career top ten; Keith's 6.1 career rebound average after two seasons ranks just outside of the career charts (6.3 = 10th);
* For the second-straight year, sophomore Jessika Johnson was a SoCon Champion during the Indoor Track & Field season -- in 2004-05, the Riverdale, Ga., native finished third in both indoor and outdoor ... at the 2005-06 indoor championships, Johnson took first place in the high jump;
* Sophomores Chevon Keith and Jessika Johnson are the only two Lady Catamounts to have appeared in every game played over the past two seasons (32 games in 2004-05; 29 games in 2005-06 = 61 total games).
|
|
 |
