CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Sophomore guard/forward Emily Clarke poured in a career-high 25 points and Western Carolina women’s basketball halted a three-game losing skid with a 68-59 victory over Middle Tennessee Sunday in the Ramsey Center. The Lady Catamounts improve to 3-4 on the season while the Blue Raiders fall to 5-3.
Clarke was on fire for the Lady Catamounts as she was 8-of-13 from the field, 2-of-3 from behind the three-point arch and was also 7-of-10 from the charity stripe. The Snellville, Ga. native also had eight rebounds and one steal.
It is the second time this season Western Carolina has posted a win over an opponent receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll. Middle Tennessee was receiving six votes in the Coaches poll that was released on December 1. The win also evens the two schools’ overall record against each other to 2-2.
Middle Tennessee jumped out to an early 10-5 lead to start the game and Western Carolina clawed to within one point, 10-9, thanks to a jumper by Heather Swayne. Clarke gave the Lady Catamounts the lead for the rest of the game when she drained a three-pointer with 12:37 left in the first half to give WCU a 12-10 advantage.
Western Carolina held onto a five point lead, 23-18, with five minutes remaining in the half and went on a 13-4 run to build a 14-point lead at the half. Clarke scored 19 points in the first half to break her career-record for points in a game after the first 20 minutes.
The Lady Catamounts clung to their lead over the Blue Raiders tenuously, in the second half, and Middle Tennessee made its run cutting Western Carolina’s lead to 50-46 when Anne Marie Lanning hit a three-pointer with 7:09 left in the game. Western Carolina answered with a free throw by Lauren Powell and a lay-up by Brooke Johnson. It was the start of a 10-0 run that ballooned Western Carolina’s lead back to 14, 60-46, with 3:38 left. Middle Tennessee cut it to single digits three times but could never go below an eight point deficit.
Amongst the hoopla of the win was Powell’s record-breaking three-pointer. Two minutes into the second half, she drained a three-pointer on the left side to give her 181 in career and the Western Carolina three-point career record.
Western Carolina dominated the boards with a 45-34 advantage over Middle Tennessee. The Lady Catamounts had 29 defensive rebounds and 16 on the offensive side. The Lady Catamounts also shot 45.1 percent from the field and went to the free throw line 31 times, connecting on 19 of them for 61.3 percent.
Johnson was the only other Lady Catamount in double figures with 10 points. The senior forward also kept her streak alive with two blocks in the game, and now has had at least one block in the first seven games of the season. She currently has 88 blocks in her career and needs 15 to move into second place for blocks in a career.
Western Carolina opens Southern Conference play December 14 at Davidson. Tip time is set for 2 p.m.