Americus, Ga. —- The 4th-ranked Catawba College women's basketball team utilized 20-point games from Lyrik Thorne and Sara McIntosh to finish the weekend 2-0 at the GSW classic with a 78-68 win over the host Hurricanes Saturday afternoon.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba was 28-of-55 (51 percent) from the field; GSW shot 26-for-58 (45 percent)
- The Catawba Indians were 9-for-25 (36 percent) from three-point range, while limiting the Hurricanes to 5-of-22 (23 percent) from deep
- Catawba made 13 of its 15 (87 percent) free throw attempts; GSW went 11-of-20 (55 percent) from the charity stripe
- Both teams committed 15 turnovers
- Catawba capitalized for 23 points off those turnovers
- Both teams recorded 33 rebounds; the Hurricanes had 14 offensive boards, resulting in a 13-6 advantage in second-chance points
- Catawba out-recorded GSW 13-10 in assists
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Lyrik Thorne went for a game-high 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting with five rebounds, five assists and five steals
- Sara McIntosh added 22 points on a career-high five three-pointers along with four rebounds to eclipse 1,000 career points
- Jada Porter chipped in 11 points on three three-pointers off the bench
- Janiya Downs recorded seven points, six rebounds and six assists
- Nala Baker added eight points
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- GSW scored the first basket of the game, but a quick 4-0 personal run for Thorne gave Catawba its first lead early on
- Leah Johnson's layup tied the game at 6
- A McIntosh three-pointer gave Catawba a 13-8 lead at the 4:27 mark
- Thorne's layup made it a 9-2 Catawba run to take a seven-point lead
- GSW cut into the Catawba lead, but Spry's two late free throws gave Catawba a 17-12 cushion after 10 minutes
SECOND QUARTER
- McIntosh's three pushed the Catawba lead to eight points in the opening minute of the second quarter
- The teams traded baskets until Porter's three-pointer put Catawba up 27-19 at the 5:07 mark
- GSW quickly responded with back-to-back triples from Kori Tomlinson to cut their deficit to a single basket
- McIntosh buried another three-pointer to return Catawba's advantage to 32-27
- Thorne's late pair of free throw gave Catawba a 36-30 lead heading into the halftime locker room
THIRD QUARTER
- McIntosh blitzed to a personal 6-0 run to begin the half to take a 42-30 lead
- GSW chipped into their deficit, trailing by seven at the 6:21 mark
- A 10-0 Catawba run highlighted by three-pointers from Porter and Mary Spry allowed Catawba to open up a 61-43 lead at the 1:29 mark
- Five unanswered points from the Hurricanes cut their deficit to 13
- GSW connected on two of three free throws late to pull within 62-50 with 10 minutes left
FOURTH QUARTER
- Back-to-back GSW baskets brought the Catawba lead back to single digits early on in the fourth quarter
- Thorne's jumper pushed the Catawba Indian lead back to 12 at the 5:50 mark
- McIntosh's fifth triple of the afternoon added to Catawba's lead, leading 71-58 with four and a half minutes to go
- Five unanswered points from the Hurricanes cut Catawba's lead all the way down to 73-66 with 1:37 remaining
- Baker's free throws salted away Catawba's road win in the closing seconds
UP NEXT
- Catawba returns to Goodman Arena for their home opener on Tuesday, hosting Chowan at 5:30 p.m.
