former lady eagle brooke johnson has career night in lady catamounts win

Former Seymour Lady Eagles’ All-State center Brooke Johnson had a career night Wednesday, leading her Western Carolina Lady Catamounts to an 89-74 victory over instate rival UNC Asheville.

Two Lady Catamounts posted career-highs and five scored in double figures to help propel Western Carolina women’s basketball (4-1) to the win. Western Carolina returns to action on Sunday, traveling to Middle Tennessee for a 3 p.m. tip-off.

 Johnson, Seymour High School’s all-time leading scorer who initially signed with Carson-Newman College after leading her high school team to two state tournaments but opted to transfer to Western Carolina before last season because of personal reasons, tallied a career-high six blocks and scored a season-high 21 points in the Lady Catamount’s Wednesday win.

The 6-foot-3 junior has scored in double figures in four of the first six games of the season.

Western Carolina had to shake some of the rust off their shoes after taking a nine-day hiatus from the hardwood during the recent Thanksgiving holiday. The Lady Catamounts began to hit a stride after breaking a 13-13 tie at the 14:35 minute mark in the first half when senior Jessika Johnson hit a jumper in the paint to give WCU a 15-13 lead.

 The Lady Catamounts led by just one point, 27-26, with 5:28 remaining in the half, but went on a 17-4 run to build their lead to 14 heading into the locker room. Senior Ashley Pellom hit a jumper and was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the run to help WCU build its lead.

 Western Carolina led by as much as 19 points four times in the second half. The Lady Catamounts shot a scorching 56.7 percent from the field in the last 20 minutes of the game and ended the contest shooting a season-high 50 percent.

 All 11 players scored in the contest and Western Carolina got 44 of its 89 points from the bench. One player coming off the bench also had a career night as sophomore Heather Swayne scored a career-high 10 points – the first time the guard has hit the double figure mark.

 Blocked shots were also a big stat for the Lady Catamounts as the club batted away 10 in the game – just two shy of tying the school record for blocked shots.

Senior Chevon Keith notched her third double-double this season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. It is also the fourth time in six games she has scored in double figures.

Pellom scored in double figures for the third straight game ending the contest with 14 points. Jessika Johnson also had a season-high with 10 points.