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Western Carolina women claim title at Colorado State basketball tourney
Western Carolina’s women’s basketball team rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half Saturday to defeat Colorado State, the host school, 64-60 and capture the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational.
Monique Dawson was named the tournament’s most valuable player. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Chevon Keith and Ashley Pellom.
WCU limited the Lady Rams to 26.9 percent field goal shooting in the second half.
Pellom led a balanced scoring attack for the Lady Cats (3-3) with 16 points. Keith and Lauren Powell both finished with 15, and Dawson had 14.
Kelly Jo Mullaney paced CSU with 16, and Molly Nohr added 13.
Mullaney’s jumper to start the second half gave her team a 41-25 lead.
Western scored the next seven points cutting the gap to 41-32 on two Dawson free throws at the 17:47 mark.
Mullaney’s basket with 11:39 on the clock put the Lady Rams up 48-40, but they would not hit another field goal until just five seconds remained.
Nine unanswered points, the last four by Pellom, gave WCU a 51-50 edge with six minutes left.
The Lady Cats took the lead for good, 54-53, at the 5:06 mark when Dawson converted a three-point play.
They extended the margin to 62-55 on a Dawson layup with 16 seconds to go.
Colorado State led almost the entire first half. A 9-2 spurt to end the period was capped by Emily Neal’s three-pointer for a 39-25 lead at intermission.
Western finished the game making 44.4 percent of its field goal tries compared to 37.9 percent by the Lady Rams.
Juanise Cornell’s 10 rebounds helped CSU control the boards 41-31. Keith led the Lady Cats with seven.
Keith also dished out six assists.
Colorado State committed 16 turnovers, and Western had 10.
Completing the WCU scoring were Kendra Eaton and Jessika Johnson with two apiece.
WCU 72 Weber State 70
The Lady Cats advanced to the finals by edging Weber State 72-70 Friday in overtime.
Dawson was the leading scorer with 18 points. She was joined in double figures by Eaton with 13, Keith with 12 and Powell with 11.
Keith hit a pair of key free throws in the final seconds of regulation and overtime.
Weber State’s Sara Tuomi and Chelsey Warburton scored 25 and 21 points, respectively. Teammate Shantee Releford added 11 and dominated the glass with 17 rebounds.
The Lady Wildcats built a 69-64 lead on Tashina Taylor’s jumper with 2:07 left in overtime.
Western turned the tables and ended the game on an 8-1 run. Keith’s two foul shots gave her team a 71-70 edge with 11 seconds on the clock.
Weber State had a chance to regain the lead, but Releford missed two free throws with four seconds to go.
Jessika Johnson pulled down the rebound, was fouled and made one shot for the final margin.
Neither team led by more than five points in the second half. The Lady Wildcats were in front 61-57 on Warburton’s three-pointer with 1:07 on the clock.
Powell hit a layup with 44 seconds left cutting the gap to 61-59.
Johnson blocked a layup and came down with the rebound before Keith was fouled and hit both shots for a 61-61 tie with three seconds remaining.
Weber State scored the game’s first seven points, but Western countered with nine in a row to lead 9-7 after Johnson’s foul shot at the 14:40 mark.
The Lady Cats built the margin to 24-17 on Kristen Feemster’s steal and layup with 6:05 on the clock.
The Lady Wildcats went on a 10-2 run, including four by Releford, to lead 27-26 at the 2:45 mark. They were up 31-30 at halftime.
Weber State shot 41.7 percent from the floor compared to WCU’s 34.8 percent.
Despite Releford’s board work, the Lady Cats had a 51-42 rebounding advantage. Eaton, Dawson and Erin May all pulled down eight boards.
The Lady Wildcats committed 18 turnovers, and Western had 15.
Rounding out the WCU scoring were May with six, Pellom and Johnson with four apiece, and Feemster and Lynsie Lamitie both with two.
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