Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College women's basketball team extended its program-record home winning streak to 25 games on Saturday, defeating visiting USC Aiken, 83-60, in non-conference basketball action inside Goodman Arena.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba shot 25-for-62 (40 percent) from the field, while holding USC Aiken to 24-of-61 (39 percent) from the floor
- Both teams connected on six of their 27 (22 percent) three-point attempts
- The Catawba Indians knocked down a season-high 27 free throws on 32 (84 percent) attempts; the Pacers were just 6-of-16 (38 percent) from the charity stripe
- Catawba out-rebounded Aiken 42-40, leading to a 20-10 advantage in second-chance points
- The Pacers recorded 19 assists to Catawba's 13, but the Catawba Indians forced 18 turnovers while committing just 10, leading to a dominant 27-8 advantage in points off turnovers
- Catawba's bench out-scored Aiken's 23-18
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Janiya Downs her second straight 20-point outing with a game-highs of 20 points and six rebounds, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line
- Sara McIntosh added 15 points and three boards
- Lyrik Thorne was Catawba's third in double figures with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists
- Nala Baker pitched in eight points and a game-high three steals
- Janiya Foskey added seven points and five rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- The teams traded the lead in the first couple minutes; Baker's layup gave Catawba an early 5-4 lead
- Thorne's triple capped a 9-0 Catawba run, as the Catawba Indians opened up a 12-4 lead
- Five straight points from Aiken cut Catawba's lead to three points at the 5:57 mark
- Baker's pair of free throws pushed the Catawba Indian advantage to seven
- The Pacers scored the last five points of the quarter, trailing 18-16 after 10 minutes
SECOND QUARTER
- USC Aiken tied the game at 20 at the 9-minute mark of the quarter
- The teams continued to trade baskets with ties at 22 and 24
- Thorne free throws and a Baker layup opened up a small five-point lead for the Catawba Indians
- After an Aiken three, Catawba scored five more unanswered points to extend the lead
- Downs' layup just before the halftime buzzer put Catawba up 39-31 at the break
THIRD QUARTER
- Catawba's first four field goals of the second half were three-pointers, as they opened up a 14-point lead at the 7:35 mark
- Thorne's layup pushed the advantage to 55-39 to force a Pacer timeout
- An 8-0 Catawba run gave them their largest lead of the game up to that point at 63-42
- Aiken scored its first points in over five minutes with a Hailey Unger three
- Catawba led 64-48 with 10 minutes to go
FOURTH QUARTER
- Sydney Guterman's three-pointer pushed Catawba's lead to 17 points early in the fourth
- Unger's triple kept the Pacers around with a 14-point deficit with six minutes to go
- Six unanswered Catawba points returned their lead to 20 points after Downs' free throws
- With the Catawba reserves into the lineup, the Catawba Indians' lead got up to 25 points in the closing seconds
- A late Aiken bucket solidified the 83-60 final score
UP NEXT
- Catawba closes its action in the 2023 calendar year back at Goodman Arena at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, hosting '23 NCAA Regional participant UNC Pembroke
