Salisbury, N.C. —- The 20th-ranked Catawba College women's basketball defeated Tusculum on Senior Day Saturday afternoon utilizing a combined 53 points from seniors Lyrik Thorne, Janiya Downs and Sara McIntosh. The Catawba Indians complete their regular season at 24-4 including a perfect 14-0 at home and finish atop the Piedmont Division at 16-2 in the South Atlantic Conference, while Tusculum drops to 20-8 overall and 11-7 in league play.
Thorne led Catawba in scoring with her 13th 20-point game of the season, recording a game-high 20 points, seven assists and three steals. Downs added 19 points, eight rebounds and three steals, while front court mate McIntosh had 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting and seven rebounds. Jami Tham led the Pioneers with 18 points and 11 boards.
Catawba once again took advantage of its pressure defense, forcing 19 Tusculum turnovers and turning them into 21 points on the offensive end. The Catawba Indians also limited the Pioneers' effectiveness from deep, limiting them to just 5-for-21 from three-point range.
Offense on both sides was slow in the early going with just 12 combined points in the opening five minutes. McIntosh's back-to-back layups midway through the quarter sparked a Catawba 9-0 run to finish the period, leading 17-6 after 10 minutes. The Pioneers got their deficit within seven points in the second quarter, but four consecutive Catawba field goals were three-pointers as Thorne bookended the flurry of triples along with Downs and Mercedes Wampler as led by 18 at the halftime break.
Catawba led by the same margin late in the third quarter, but an 11-0 Tusculum run cut the lead all the way down to 55-48 at the 8:23 mark of the fourth quarter. The Catawba Indians responded right back with a 10-0 run of their own capped by back-to-back triples from Jada Downs and Thorne to return the lead to a 17-point margin with four and a half minutes left. Catawba took control from there, making enough free throws to clinch the 73-63 victory.
Catawba begins its postseason run on Wednesday, hosting Limestone in the quarterfinal round of the South Atlantic Conference tournament at 5:30 p.m.
