Salisbury, N.C. —- The 12th-ranked Catawba College women's basketball team improved their nation-leading home winning streak to 30 games on Saturday, defeating visiting Coker 73-60 in their Play4Kay game at Goodman Arena to stay atop the South Atlantic Conference standings.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba shot 29-of-61 (48 percent) from the field; Coker was 24-for-59 (41 percent) from the floor
- The Catawba Indians were 7-for-16 (44 percent) from three-point range, while limiting the Cobras to 4-of-17 (24 percent)
- Catawba was 8-for-12 (67 percent) from the free throw line; Coker shot 8-of-16 (50 percent)
- The Catawba Indians out-rebounded Coker 42-31, but the Cobras held the slim 9-7 advantage in second-chance points
- Catawba recorded 13 assists to 13 turnovers, while Coker had 10 assists to 13 turnovers; the Catawba Indians had a 15-11 advantage in points off turnovers
- Catawba led in points in the paint (40-32), fastbreak points (10-8) and bench points (28-18)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Lyrik Thorne scored a game-high 17 points, as she was recognized at half for reaching 2,000 career points; she added five rebounds and three assists
- Janiya Downs chipped in 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals
- Sara McIntosh added 11 points and three steals
- Nala Baker came off the bench for 10 points with two three-pointers
- Mary Spry was the fifth Catawba Indian in double figures with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- Catawba scored the game's first seven points capped by Thorne's layup at the 5:36 mark
- The Cobras got their first points on the board nearly five minutes into the game
- The Catawba Indians pushed their lead to 11-3 after back-to-back buckets from Spry and Kairah Dixon-Booker
- Catawba led 19-11 at the first-quarter break
SECOND QUARTER
- An 8-0 Catawba run to start the second quarter had the Catawba Indians leading 27-11 after Baker canned a triple at the 5:03 mark
- The Cobras scored their first point of the second quarter at the 4:37 mark
- Spry's layup extended Catawba's lead to 34-13 with three and a half minutes to go in the half
- Kamari Thompson's basket for Coker in the closing seconds cut their halftime deficit to 41-20
THIRD QUARTER
- Two McIntosh baskets to start the half pushed the Catawba Indian lead to 25 points
- The lead reached a game-high 29 points at 53-24 after Downs buried a three-pointer at the 6:28 mark
- Coker chipped away with back-to-back three-pointers in response
- The Cobras scored the quarter's final six points, but Catawba led 59-38
FOURTH QUARTER
- The lead got down to 17 points on Mya Wasswa's layup at the 5:27 mark
- Wasswa scored again with 2:15 left to cut the deficit to 11
- A Catawba timeout righted the ship with the lead returning to 15 with back-to-back scores
UP NEXT
- Catawba returns to Goodman Arena on Wednesday, looking to keep pace atop the SAC standings as they host Limestone at 5:30 p.m.
