CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College women's basketball team battled back from a 10-point deficit with 2:40 to play to defeat Western Carolina 68-67 on Tuesday night inside the Templeton Center. Fifth-year senior Bryanna Brady buried a layup with seven seconds left to secure the victory.
FINAL SCORE: Presbyterian 68, Western Carolina 67
LOCATION: Templeton Center (Clinton, S.C.)
RECORDS: Presbyterian (2-1) | Western Carolina (2-2)
Scoring the Game
- The Blue Hose and Catamounts traded early baskets before a guest layup with 6:47 to go in the quarter pushed it to a 6-3 lead. Mara Neira with four unanswered pushed PC back in front 7-6 with 4:31 to go. WCU used a 6-2 burst to make it 12-9 before a Paige Kindseth layup cut it to 12-11. The guests used a pair of free throws late to make it 14-11 after one. WCU took advantage of six offensive rebounds to get the early lead on Tuesday.
- PC began the second with six unanswered to take a 17-14 lead with 7:10 to play in the quarter. WCU made a quick layup before a 7-1 run pushed PC back in front 24-17. The Catamounts connected on a pair of free throws before a Nuria Cunill layup pushed it to 26-19 at intermission.
- The two teams traded bursts in the early going of the second half before a 9-0 Catamount run gave them a 33-30 lead with 6:59 to go in the quarter. Neira scored PC's next six points to push the Blue Hose back in front 36-35 with 4:21 to play. Western Carolina connects on back-to-back threes to make it 44-38 before four unanswered from the Blue Hose made it 44-42 WCU as we moved to the fourth.
- The Catamounts opened the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run to push to a 53-44 lead with 7:54 to play in the game. Sonia Sato and Neira quickly cut the deficit to five, 53-48 before a 5-0 burst from WCU made it 58-48 with 4:04 to go. Both teams traded a pair of layups to make it 62-52 with 2:40 to go leading to the Blue Hose clawing back. PC connected on back-to-back threes from Aubrie Kierscht and Ashley Carillo to quickly cut the deficit to four, 62-58 with 1:32 to play. Following a 1-of-2 at the line from WCU, Carrillo connected on a three-point play to cut the deficit to two, 63-61 with 1:13 to play. WCU pushed the lead to five, 66-61 with 46 seconds to play before Kierscht buried a three which quickly cut it to 66-64 with 37 seconds. WCU pushed it back to three, 67-64 making one of two at the line before Brady connected on a second-chance layup to make it a one-point game with 17 seconds left. Following a PC timeout, Brady gets free once again to bury a layup and propel PC to the 68-67 comeback win.
Players of the Game
- Mara Neira led the Blue Hose with 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting while also grabbing three rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals. Brady added 13 points including those two key layups down the stretch along with four rebounds. Ashley Carrillo added 10 points. Christina Kline led the Blue Hose with seven rebounds while Carrillo, Kline, and Neira each had three assists. Mya Love led the Catamounts with 23 points, while Reagan Trumm added 15 and Audrey Meyers chipped in with 10 points. Meyers led the Catamounts with seven rebounds. Shayane Poirot-Allard added seven assists.
Stats of the Game
- The Blue Hose posted a 49.1% (28-of-57) from the floor as Western Carolina recorded a 45.1% (23-of-51) on Tuesday night. WCU made six threes compared to four from the Blue Hose. The Catamounts were 15-of-27 at the charity stripe, while PC went 8-of-13 at the line. PC outrebounded Western Carolina 40-28. The Blue Hose won the battle in the paint with a 42-32 advantage and also outscored WCU 20-6 on second-chance points. Both teams tallied 14 assists.
Notables
- Neira finished one off of her season-high on Tuesday with 22 points to lead PC.
- Kline matched her career-best with seven rebounds as she added three assists and three points to fill the stat sheet.
- Brady added 13 points including her two key layups late to secure the win. The fifth-year senior currently is averaging 13.3 ppg in the Blue Hose three games to begin the 2022-23 season.
- In the Blue Hose DI era, Tuesday's win is the first victory over WCU in Clinton as the lone win over the Catamounts had occurred in Cullowhee before the victory in Templeton.
- Kindseth made her season debut on Tuesday with two points, one rebound, and an assist in nine minutes of action.
- The Blue Hose avenged a one-point defeat from a season ago when WCU defeated PC 52-51 in Cullowhee last November.
Up Next
- The Blue Hose hit the road for the first time in the 2022-23 season Saturday with a trip to St. Paul to battle St. Thomas at 8 p.m… The weekend wraps up with a 3 p.m. tip against Minnesota on Sunday afternoon from Minneapolis.
