Greeneville, Tenn. —- The Catawba College women's basketball team out-scoured Tusculum 24-11 in the fourth quarter to come from behind and defeat the Pioneers on the road, 88-77 in South Atlantic Conference play Wednesday night. The team was led by Saniya Wilson's career-high 26-point effort.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Tusculum shot 28-for-65 (43 percent) from the field, while Catawba was 30-for-70 (43 percent) from the floor
- The Catawba Indians were 8-for-20 (40 percent) from three-point range; the Pioneers shot 6-of-17 (35 percent) from deep
- Catawba was 20-for-28 (71 percent) from the free throw line, while TU was 15-for-23 (65 percent) at the foul line
- Both teams recorded 42 rebounds, but it was Catawba that held a 14-6 edge in second-chance points
- Tusculum recorded 17 assists to 19 turnovers, while the Catawba Indians had nine assists to 15 turnovers; Catawba scored 17 points off turnovers to TU's 14
- The Pioneers led in points in the paint (42-32) and fastbreak points (26-5); Catawba led in bench points 11-7
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Wilson poured in a career-high 26 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 12-for-13 from the free throw line with five rebounds
- Janiya Foskey matched a career high with 20 points, 11 rebounds and a team-high three assists
- Bailee Goodlett chipped in 13 points with three key three-pointers down the stretch
- Nala Baker also had 13 points with a pair of assists
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- Sydney Gueterman's three-pointer made it an early 10-5 Catawba lead at the 5:49 mark
- Ni'Kiah Chesterfield hit a three-pointer for three of her 26 points on the night to pull the Pioneers within a single point
- Wilson answered later in the period with a triple of her own as Catawba led 23-19 after a fast-paced opening quarter
SECOND QUARTER
- Catawba stretched the lead to 10 points after Baker's three-pointer in the opening minutes of the second quarter
- TU responded with a 7-0 run over the next minute and a half to cut their deficit to a single possession
- The Pioneers took their first lead in over 12 minutes on Chesterfield's layup to lead 32-31 near the midway point
- Another Chesterfield lay-in made it a six-point Tusculum lead with a minute and a half to go in the half
- Wilson's second three-pointer and a pair of Baker free throws helped whittle the lead down; Tusculum led 40-38 at the break
THIRD QUARTER
- The Catawba Indians sprinted out to a 7-0 run to start the second half jump started by Foskey's old-fashioned three-point play
- Tusculum responded with a 7-0 run of their own to return the lead in their favor
- Catawba took the lead back in a back-and-forth start to the period following Goodlett's jumper
- A 9-0 Pioneer run pushed TU's lead to its largest of the game, 56-49 with 4:49 still to go in the quarter
- The first of three key Goodlett three-pointers cut the Catawba deficit in half before Wilson added two free throws to get back within a point
- The lead changed hands seven more times in the final 3:37 of the period, as TU wrapped up a very active third quarter with a 66-64 advantage
FOURTH QUARTER
- Catawba regained the lead at the 7:30 mark on Foskey's free throw
- Tusculum's Jalyn Spurlin tied the game at 72 at the 6:13 mark and the Catawba Indians held the Pioneers scoreless for almost four minutes with Wilson's and-one and Goodlett's triple help give Catawba an 80-72 cushion
- TU cut their deficit to six with 85 seconds left, but Wilson helped salt the game away at the line and cap Catawba's fourth straight win in league play
GAME NOTES
- Wilson's previous career high was an 11-point outing against Lees-McRae in Pioneer Arena earlier this year
- Foskey's matched her career high, which was also set in the Lees-McRae win in the Jersey Mike's Regional Challenge
- Foskey's third double-double of the season (wins over Anderson and LMU)
- After recording eight three-pointers made once in their first seven games, the Catawba Indians have hit eight or more triples in each of their last three
- Catawba has already knocked out three of its four longest SAC road trips of the season before the new year (C-N, Wise & Tusculum); their longest road trip of the year is when they travel to LMU on Jan. 18
- Catawba pulls to .500 against Tusculum in Pioneer Arena all-time (14-14); Catawba has won its last five over TU
UP NEXT
- Catawba returns to Goodman Arena for good in 2024 starting Saturday, facing 10th-ranked Carson-Newman for the second time in three weeks; tip is set for 2 p.m.
