JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Catawba held off a Carson-Newman rally and posted a 63-58 non-conference win on Monday night at Holt Fieldhouse. The Catawba Indians improve to 7-0 on the year, while the Eagles, ranked 17th in NCAA II, fall to 3-4.

Catawba would build a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter, but from there, Carsom-Newman began to whittle away at that deficit. A layup by Nala Baker with 43 seconds left in the quarter put Catawba up 54-46 going to the final 10 minutes.

The basket by Baker would be the last for Catawba as the Lady Indians went 0-14 in the fourth quarter with 10 of those shots coming from behind the arc. Catawba was able to get to the line, hitting on 5-of-6 over the first four minutes to keep its edge.

After two free throws by Sara McIntosh with 6:51 to go, Catawba went into a scoring drought and Carson-Newman closed with 59-58 on a basket by Tori Rutherford with 4:23 left. That would be the final points for the Eagles as they missed their final six shots and committed all six of their four-quarter turnovers in those final minutes.

Janiya Downs made two free throws with 3:46 to go that ended the scoring drought. Catawba's defense did the rest coming up with five steals and blocking a pair of shots.

Lyrik Thorne led Catawba with 17 points, adding five rebounds, five assists and four steals. McIntosh added 11 and Lauren Ford 10 in the win. Braelyn Wykle had 14 points to pace Carson-Newman.

Catawba hits the road again on Wednesday, heading to USC Aiken for a 5:30 tip.