Hickory, N.C. — The Catawba College women's basketball held a fourth-quarter lead at South Atlantic Conference rival Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday, but the Bears scored 10 of the game's final 12 points to turn the result in their favor.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Lenoir-Rhyne shot 24-for-49 (49 percent) from the field, while Catawba was 27-of-66 (41 percent) from the floor
- The Catawba Indians made a season-high 10 three-pointers on 22 attempts (46 percent); the Bears were 8-of-21 (38 percent) from deep
- Catawba was 8-for-10 (80 percent) from the free throw line, but LR took advantage of a larget number of attempts at the line, going 22-for-30 (73 percent)
- Lenoir-Rhyne held a slight edge in rebounding 33-31
- Catawba recorded a season-high 20 assists to 12 turnovers, while the Bears had 15 assists to 15 turnovers; Catawba led 16-9 in points off turnovers
- LR held slight edges in fastbreak points (6-4) and points in the paint (30-28); the Catawba Indians held a 29-17 advantage in bench points
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Sheree Gidney poured in a career-high 17 points on 7-for-14 shooting with six rebounds
- Brooklin Ingram added 16 points while going 4-for-6 from three-point range
- Imani Williams was the third Catawba Indian in double figures with 13 points and a perfect 3-for-3 mark from three-point range
- Kairah Dixon-Booker logged seven points and a team-high seven rebounds
- Mary Spry added six points in a season-low nine minutes due to foul trouble
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- Lenoir-Rhyne opened up an early lead two minutes in, 7-2
- Back-to-back Gidney layups – with the latter being an and-one – turned the lead to Catawba's favor, 10-9 near the midway point
- Tatum Bowen's three-pointer broke a tie game later in the period with LR lead 17-14
- A Saniya Wilson triple and Dixon-Booker's and-one flipped the three-point lead to Catawba at 20-17
- The Bears led 25-24 in a high-octane opening period
SECOND QUARTER
- LR's Aaliyah El had three consecutive baskets early in the second quarter to take a five-point lead
- A Makayla Stokes three-pointer and Ingram's fastbreak layup tied the game once again at 35
- After LR hit a three-pointer to go up four points, Catawba battled back with a 7-0 run to take a 44-41 lead with less than a minute to go
- The Bears converted a layup in the final seconds to cut their halftime deficit to a single point, 44-43
THIRD QUARTER
- LR scored the first four points of the second half to take a three-point lead before Gidney responded with a pair of baskets to turn the lead back in the first four minutes
- The Bears regained the lead, ahead by as much as five points near the two-minute mark
- A trio of Williams three-pointers allowed Catawba to keep in the race, trailing 60-59 heading into the final period
FOURTH QUARTER
- The teams traded baskets and later the lead in the fourth quarter; Gidney's fastbreak layup put the Catawba Indians up 66-65 and back-to-back Spry buckets put the visitors up 70-68 with 2:27 left to play
- LR received a technical foul when one of its players reached across the line on an inbounds pass, but the pair of free throws and the ensuing possession resulted in no points for Catawba
- The Bears used free throws to take a five-point lead in the final minute; Dixon-Booker's lay-in cut the deficit to three points, but the Bears converted free throws down the stretch to solidify the win
UP NEXT
- Catawba remains on the road in SAC play on Saturday, traveling to Tusculum on Saturday for a 5 p.m. start
