Sophomore guard Marsh McGillivary scored a career-high 21 points, leading the Lady Cats to a 91-60 thrashing of Southern Conference rival Davidson College Saturday night at the Ramsey Center. The win was the first home triumph for Western Carolina this season.
The Lady Catamounts jumped all over Davidson early, building a huge lead they would never relinquish. McGillivary buried a three-point basket with 12:01 left in the first stanza to cap a 25-4 Western run to open the game.
Just as their lead slightly began to fade, freshman forward Tiffany Hamm hit another three-pointer, one of the Lady Cats’ six for the ball game, to put the score at 36-15 with only 6:36 left in the opening half. The Lady Wildcats fought back, however, and ended the period with a 16-4 run to shrink Western’s seemingly insurmountable lead to single digits at 40-31.
Western Carolina charged out of the half-time gates just as it had opened the game. Scoring the half’s first nine points en route to a 21-8 run, the Lady Catamounts stretched their lead back to 22 at 61-39. They would steadily increase this margin until the final whistle, when the score stood at 91-60.
The game’s statistics told much the same story as the scoreboard, as they dominated both sides of the floor. Offensively, the Lady Cats shot 53 percent from the field, including 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Their suffocating defense allowed the Lady Wildcats only 31 percent shooting, while Western Carolina dominated the glass with a 51-37 rebounding advantage.
McGillivary led four Lady Cat hoopsters in double figures. Junior Center Laura Echols and Hamm pitched in with 18 and 17 down low, respectively. Echols also grabbed ten boards for the squad’s only double double. Freshman forward Janetta Heggins notched 13 points to reach double digits as well.
Senior guard April Fleck played solidly all-around, tallying eight points, nine rebounds, and three steals. She now has 221 career steals moving her to second all-time on the Lady Cats’ career list.
