In a basketball-filled Saturday at Western Carolina University, the men hold on to their win, but the women got edged out in the final moments.
For the Lady Cats, Saturday’s double header did not end the way that they wanted it to. They were beaten in the final minutes of the game by the ETSU Buccaneers. Today was Play 4 Kay day, which is a day set aside to raise awareness for cancer in women. In honor of this day, the Lady Cats wore pink shirts in their pre-game warm up.
The majority of the game went back and forth between the Cats and the Bucs but in the end ETSU was able to pull out a 63-60 win. WCU’s own Justin Taylor led all scorers with 22 points followed by Ace Easter and Lindsay Simpson who both had 11 of their own.
“Nobody is ever happy about a loss but I thought we gave a tremendous effort. Our defense was great and we were able to hold them below their season scoring average,” said Catamount coach, Karen Middleton, after the game.
Photo by Barrett Boyles
The second game of the double header ended on a higher note than the first. WCU’s men’s basketball team took on the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga Mocs,who were ranked number two in the SoCon. After losing to Samford on Thursday by blowing a 21 point lead, the Cats tried their best to make sure that didn’t happen again.
Holding onto the lead for the whole game, the Cats were able to cement their victory after some clutch shots by senior James Sinclair. Sinclair who finished the game with 21 points and 9 rebounds had this to say about the Catamount victory.
“It was a great win. We give Chattanooga a lot of credit they are a great ball team. They made us earn every point that we scored tonight.
“Several guys stepped up today in this great environment. This is definitely a win that we needed, and it taught me a lot about this team,” is what Catamount head coach Larry Hunter had to say about the win.
The men are on the road to play Mercer on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m., but will be back at home on Saturday, Feb. 14, to take on Wofford at 5 p.m.
The Lady Cats will be on the road for the next two games to take on Mercer and ETSU, but will be back at home on Monday, Feb. 16, to take on Chattanooga.
