St. Joseph, Mo. —- The Catawba College women's basketball team advanced to its first-ever Final Four in program history on Monday, becoming the first South Atlantic Conference team to win a game at the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Elite Eight. The sixth-seeded Catawba Indians face No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET for a trip to the national title game at The American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on April 1.
Catawba continued its best season in program history on Monday, defeating three-seed Cal St.-Dominguez Hills, 77-70, while forcing 23 turnovers. Lyrik Thorne, who broke the school's single-season points record in the national quarterfinal, scored 21 points in the second half to propel Catawba to its historic victory.
Thorne, the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year, First Team All-Region selection and Southeast Regional Most Outstanding Player, averages 19.6 points per game and has scored in double figures in each of Catawba's 34 games this season. The senior from High Point, N.C. has set school records this season for points in a season and three-pointers made in a season while one 20-point game shy of tying the record for 20-point games in a season.
Janiya Downs and Sara McIntosh are Catawba's two other all-conference and all-region tournament performers, averaging 12.8 and 11.4 points per game, respectively. Downs came up big in the region tournament, averaging 16.3 points per game in the Southeast Regional tournament, scoring at least 14 points in each game. McIntosh scored 20 points in Catawba's regional semifinal win over Clayton State and posted 10 points and five rebounds in Monday's national quarterfinal win.
Other key contributors from Catawba's win over CSUDH on Monday were Mercedes Wampler and Mary Spry. Wampler, a grad student from Browns Summit, N.C. has started each of Catawba's 34 games this season and scored 10 points in Catawba's national quarterfinal win. Spry, a freshman from Faith, N.C., also added 10 points and key minutes while McIntosh exited the game due to injury.
Catawba won't be lacking experience on this stage on Wednesday, as Minnesota-Duluth also makes its first-ever trip to the Final Four after defeating Assumption in their national quarterfinal appearance on Monday. The Bulldogs are the second seed in the Elite Eight and most recently ranked sixth in the WBCA Division II national poll.
UMD is led in scoring by WBCA National Player of the Year Brooke Olson, who averages 22.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on 57 percent shooting from the field, 35 percent shooting from three-point range and 85 percent shooting from the free throw line. A fifth-year senior from Rice Lake, Wis., Olson has been named a WBCA All-American four times in her career.
Ella Gilbertson is the Bulldogs' other double-digit scorer, averaging 10.2 points per game primarily off the bench for head coach Mandy Pearson. As a team, UMD ranks top 15 in the country in field goal percentage (47.3 - 4th), blocks per game (4.9 - 8th), scoring defense (56.3 points allowed per game - 13th) and scoring margin (+14.6 per game - 14th).
The game is set for 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, airing live on CBS Sports Network.
