ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Western Carolina women’s basketball built a 20-point lead through three quarters, then withstood a late UNC Asheville charge to claim a 73-63 victory Thursday night at Kimmel Arena in the Mountain Rivalry battle.
Ally Hollifield led the Catamounts with 15 points, five assists and two steals, while her older sister, Kate Hollifield, added 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and a team-high three steals. Kayla Mount contributed 11 points and a team-best seven rebounds as WCU improved to 4-0 on the season.
The result avenges a 67-50 loss to the Bulldogs in Cullowhee last November and stretches WCU’s all-time series lead to 27-19. A crowd of 745 watched at Kimmel Arena.
The win is the latest sign of a dramatic turnaround for a program that finished 3-26 last season and went winless (0-14) in Southern Conference play. Third-year head coach Jonathan Tsipis again rebuilt the roster this offseason, adding transfers Kate Hollifield and Mount along with four freshmen, and the Catamounts arrived in Asheville 3-0 after lopsided wins over Carolina University (96-31), West Florida (72-58) and Johnson University (89-47). Thursday was the first road game of the year and the second test against a Division I opponent.
UNC Asheville entered 2-1, having started 2-0 for the first time since 2019-20 before a 50-40 loss at Samford on Monday. The Bulldogs also had freshman Niyonna Asbelle fresh off Big South Freshman of the Week honors, though she was held to two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
The Bulldogs scored first on a layup by LaNicia Parker, but a Mount basket tied the game and Kate Hollifield’s 3-pointer put WCU in front for good. Kate hit two 3s in the opening quarter, and Ally capped the period with a 3 off her sister’s assist for a 19-15 lead.
The second quarter belonged to the Catamount defense. WCU outscored UNC Asheville 16-4 over the first six-plus minutes of the period behind free throws from Justice Zimmerman, a jumper from Ellie Richardson and two baskets from Kate Hollifield, stretching the lead to 35-19. The Bulldogs answered with an 8-0 burst, but free throws from Camri Hobbs and Ally Hollifield’s layup at the buzzer sent WCU into halftime ahead 39-27.
Mount scored seven of her 11 points in the third quarter as the Catamounts opened the second half on an 8-0 run and led 47-27 with 6:22 to play in the period. UNC Asheville did not score until the 4:28 mark and shot 3-of-13 in the quarter, managing just eight points. Richardson’s 3-pointer at the buzzer, assisted by Tina Bowers, made it 55-35 heading into the fourth.
The lead peaked at 21 (58-37) on Ally Hollifield’s 3-pointer with 7:53 left, but the Bulldogs refused to go quietly. UNC Asheville outscored WCU 28-18 in the final period, shooting 11-of-18 from the field and collecting 12 second-chance points. Dariasia Pitts, who finished with 11 rebounds, seven of them offensive, scored on two tip-ins, and Riley Milausnic hit a fast-break 3-pointer to get the margin to 18.
Western Carolina steadied itself each time. Finley Van Bree hit back-to-back layups to push the lead to 15 with just over three minutes left, and Hannah Moss sank two free throws late to preserve a double-digit cushion. Jamaria Freeman scored eight of her team-high 17 points in the fourth, including a 3-pointer with two seconds left that set the final margin, but it was too little, too late.
The difference was WCU’s pressure. The Catamounts forced 24 turnovers, 10 of them by Freeman, tallied 11 steals and turned the miscues into 29 points to the Bulldogs’ 14. WCU also won the rebounding battle 35-31 and got 22 bench points, led by six each from Hobbs and Van Bree. Parker added 11 points and six rebounds for UNC Asheville.
There is also plenty to clean up. WCU shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53), made just six of 20 3-pointers and went 23-of-40 at the free-throw line. The Bulldogs also outscored the Catamounts 17-7 on fast-break points and recovered 15 offensive rebounds, numbers that nearly turned a comfortable win into a closer finish.
Western Carolina now returns to Cullowhee for a home game against Virginia University of Lynchburg on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. at the Ramsey Center. It then faces its biggest test yet on Wednesday, Nov. 18 (5 p.m.) at Cincinnati, a Power Four opponent, with trips to App State and Clemson still ahead before Southern Conference play begins. If the Catamounts keep forcing turnovers and spreading the scoring, as they did Thursday, they have a chance to build on a 4-0 start that already has them past last season’s win total.
