Using 13 Brooke Johnson points, including the team’s first 11 markers, the Lady Catamounts (15-7, 9-2 SoCon) grabbed a 16-12 advantage with 11:03 to play in the first half. Nearly four and a half minutes later, a Kristen Feemster jumper put Western up 24-14 before Elon (9-13, 3-8) stormed back with a 12-0 run to take a 26-24 lead on a jumper by Urysla Cotton with 4:29 remaining in the stanza.

A 14-2 run over the remainder of the period for Western Carolina saw the Lady Cats carry a 38-28 advantage into the break.

Western came out hot in the second half and went on a 17-10 run over the first 6:46 of the period to build a 17-point advantage on a Chevon Keith layup.

Once again, Elon answered and the Phoenix whittled the deficit down to 10 points at 59-49 when Tierra Bumbrey drained one of her three three-point buckets with 8:44 to play. Unfortunately, the Phoenix could claw no closer and the Lady Cats outscored Elon 18-17 the rest of the way to provide the final margin.

Elon’s 66 points marked the first time that the Phoenix scored 60 or more points since netting 76 in a victory at Campbell on Nov. 30. This was also the first time that Elon failed to win when scoring at least 60 points this year.

The Phoenix also received double-digit scoring performances from Nikko King and Nicole Allison who each scored 10 points. King led the Phoenix on the boards, hauling in eight caroms.

Johnson led all players with a game-high 22 points off the bench. Lauren Powell chipped in 15 points while Ashley Pellom added 13 more for the Lady Cats. Jessika Johnson grabbed a game-best nine rebounds for Western Carolina.

Western Carolina hit 18 of 24 free throws, which made the biggest difference in the game, as Elon connected on nine of its 10 attempts from the charity stripe.

The Lady Catamounts shot 53.1 percent from the floor, including 58.3 percent in the second half, compared to Elon’s 36.8 percent outing from the field. Western also edged the Phoenix in rebounds (39-31), assists (19-12) and blocks (4-1). Elon turned the ball over less than WCU (11-19) and swiped eight steals to just four for the Lady Cats.

Elon will return to action on Sat., Feb. 3 in a 5:00 p.m. contest at Georgia Southern.