Dec. 8, 2009

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's basketball (2-7) dropped a nail-biter with Charlotte (4-5) 64-62 Tuesday in Halton Arena.

The Catamounts had a chance to tie the game, with 10.8 seconds left when Charlotte's Kendria Holmes missed both of her free throws. Emily Clarke ripped down the rebound and passed it off to Jessica Jackson. Clarke had the ball as the final seconds ticked down but she was trapped in the back court and lofted up a desperation shot as time expired.

Western Carolina proved to be road warriors against the 49ers even though the score didn't reflect a win. The Catamounts were down by 11, 33-22, at the half and had just three made field goals in the final 10 minutes of the first 20 minutes.

Charlotte reached its largest lead of the game, 13 points, twice and was up 37-24 with 17:55 left in the second half. Western Carolina exploded, going on a 21-5 run, in a seven minute span that gave WCU its first lead of the second half, 43-42 with 10:55 remaining.

From there it was a nip-tuck game. Tied at 47, with 9:46 left, Western Carolina took a three-point advantage off a three-pointer by Clarke - it was the largest lead of the half for WCU. Western Carolina's final lead of the game was one point off a jumper by Kaila'Shea Menendez to make it 56-55.

With 2:48 left, Charlotte's Ashley Spriggs hit a bucket to give the 49ers the lead for good. With 56 seconds remaining, Charlotte was up by five when Jessica Jackson maneuvered around the defenders for a lay-up, to cut it to two points. Shannon McCallum hit one of two free throws, with 32 seconds left, push the lead back to four for Charlotte.

Clarke led all scorers with 19 points. Kendra Carroll and Menendez followed with 15 points a piece. Western Carolina was near perfection at the free throw line, hitting 12-off-14.

Western Carolina continues its five-game road swing with a trip to Western Kentucky on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.

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