Salisbury, N.C. — The Catawba College women's basketball team overcame an eight-point deficit with less than three minutes remaining in regulation to then top Anderson in overtime in a matchup of two teams right on the South Atlantic Conference Tournament bubble on Wednesday evening in Goodman Arena.
TEAM STATISTICS
- Catawba was 25-for-56 (45 percent) from the field, while Anderson went 25-of-71 (35 percent) from the floor
- The Catawba Indians were 4-for-18 (22 percent) from three-point range; the Trojans went 5-for-23 (22 percent) from long range
- AU was 11-for-15 (73 percent), while Catawba went 15-for-22 (68 percent) at the charity stripe
- Anderson out-rebounded the Catawba Indians 43-39; their 17 offensive rebounds led to 12 second-chance points
- The Trojans recorded 12 assists to 17 turnovers, while Catawba had 10 assists to 21 turnovers; however, Catawba led 22-17 in points off turnovers
- The Catawba Indians led in points in the paint (36-32), fastbreak points (10-7) and bench points (22-12)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Mary Spry scored 21 points, including 11 made free throws, along with eight rebounds and three steals
- Sheree Gidney chipped in 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and five boards
- Kairah Dixon-Booker scored 12 points with six rebounds
- Brooklin Ingram added 11 points and five boards
- Imani Williams dished out a team-high four assists
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
- Two early Dixon-Booker baskets put Catawba ahead 4-0
- The Trojans gained their first lead at 8-6 on a three-pointer from Jada Brooks
- Buckets from Gidney and Ingram helped flip the advantage back in Catawba's favor
- The Catawba Indians led 15-13 after 10 minutes
SECOND QUARTER
- The teams traded baskets for the entirety of the second quarter
- AU's Ashley Hill hit a late layup to give the Trojans the 26-24 edge at the halftime break
THIRD QUARTER
- Anderson used two early baskets to push their advantage to six points early in the third
- An Ingram jumper and Saniya Wilson three-pointer trimmed Catawba's deficit to a single point at the 5:28 mark
- Anderson answered with five straight points of their own to return their lead to six
- AU led 43-37 after three quarters
FOURTH QUARTER
- Gidney's jumper pulled Catawba within a point once again at the 7:15 mark of the fourth
- Ashlyn Sheridan's jumper at the 2:53 mark brought Anderson's lead to eight points
- Dixon-Booker's jumper was followed by an Anderson missed layup, leading to Spry's jumper at the 1:12 mark to pull within four
- Two turnovers preceded a Dixon-Booker layup and an Ingram jumper that tied the game at 56 with 31 seconds left in regulation
- Anderson's Kyla Cain hit what looked to be the game-winner for Anderson with 2.2 seconds remaining, but the Trojans fouled Spry on the try from three-point range – Spry made two of three to send the game to overtime
OVERTIME
- Anderson jumped out to a 64-60 lead with 2:16 remaining in overtime
- Ingram made a layup before a Spry steal led to two free throws on the other end to tie the game once more
- After two missed jumpshots on the Anderson end, Dixon-Booker's layup put Catawba in front with 31 seconds remaining
- Catawba forced a missed layup and made one free throw on the other end – Anderson's try for the tie was no good as Catawba picked up a key win in the SAC tourney race
UP NEXT
- Catawba returns home for the final time this season on Saturday versus Mars Hill; Senior Day will take place before the game, which tips at 2 p.m.
