NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Western Carolina 74, Piedmont 54
Records: Western Carolina, 2-7; Piedmont, 2-3
 
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Piedmont College's women's basketball team couldn't have asked for a better start to its exhibition contest with Western Carolina on Wednesday night, but a hot start wasn't enough for the Lady Lions versus their Division I opponents.

Despite cutting the WCU lead to single digits early in the 4^th quarter, the Lions fell 74-54 after a late offensive surge propelled the Catamounts to their second straight win on their home court.
 
Piedmont, who played without leading scorer HOPE FRANKLIN, showed no signs of rust in its first game in nearly a month and came out firing on offense. The Lady Lions connected on nine of their first 11 field goal attempts and built an early 22-13 advantage over WCU. Piedmont led 24-22 at the end of the first quarter after making 10 of its 18 attempts.
 
While the offense slowed after that, the Lady Lions did not fade away as quickly as the Catamounts would have liked. Despite a 14-point halftime deficit, Piedmont responded by outscoring WCU 11-8 in the third quarter to pull the margin to just 11.
 
Early in the fourth quarter, freshman guard LU WOOLFOLK connected on her second three-pointer of the game to make it an eight-point game at 58-50. That would be as close as the Lady Lions would get as the Catamounts promptly went on a 16-0 run to help put the finishing touches on their home victory.
 
Woolfolk finished with 10 points, three steals, and three rebounds in the game. She was one of three Lady Lions to finish in double figures, joining NAKIYAH WASHINGTON (18) and LIVIA SKINNER (17). Washington added seven rebounds to her impressive line while Skinner pitched in four rebounds and two assists.
 
WCU's Kyla Allison, who entered the game fifth in scoring in the Southern Conference, led all players with 19 points and eight rebounds on the game.
 
TURNING POINT:
--After an impressive third quarter kept the game close, LU WOOLFOLK's three-pointer with 7:09 left in the game sparked a 16-0 run from WCU that Piedmont could not overcome.
 
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
--NAKIYAH WASHINGTON led Piedmont with 18 points in 22 minutes of play. She was 8-9 at the free throw line and added 8 rebounds.
--LIVIA SKINNER totaled 17 points (7-13 FG, 2-3 3FGs) in a team-high 36 minutes (no other Lady Lion played more than 28).
--LU WOOLFOLK equaled her career-high with10 points for a third straight game.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
--Piedmont was 10-18 on field goal attempts in the first quarter (55.6%). For the rest of the game, the Lady Lions were just 9-39 (23.1%).
--7 of the Lady Lions' 11 points in the third quarter came at the free throw line. Piedmont was 11-13 overall at the charity stripe.
--WCU coughed up 20 turnovers (8 in the third quarter) compared to 18 from the Lady Lions.   
 
UP NEXT:
--Piedmont is scheduled to begin USA South conference play on Friday, January 15, with a 6:00 p.m. home game versus Covenant College, but is in negotiations to add other non-conference games to the schedule in the week prior. Any schedule updates will be announced at piedmontlions.com.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW:
- To stay up to date on all information regarding Piedmont College Athletics, be sure to visit PiedmontLions.com and connect with the Green and Gold on social media. Follow the Lions on Twitter: @PiedmontLions, Instagram: @PiedmontLions, and Facebook. To follow each Piedmont athletic program on social media, use the Social Media Directory at PiedmontLions.com or click here.