Thorne and McIntosh combine for 61 in #25 Women’s Basketball’s win in 2OT thriller

Salisbury, N.C. —- The 25th-ranked Catawba College women's basketball team survived a double overtime thriller against Limestone University at Goodman Gym on Saturday afternoon behind a career-high 35 points from senior guard Lyrik Thorne. Catawba retains the top record in the South Atlantic Conference with a 12-2 record in league play and 20-4 record overall, while Limestone drops to 13-11 overall and 8-6 in the conference.

Thorne's career game is the 11th time in program history a Catawba Indian went for 35 or more points in a game. The senior made a career-high 13 field goals and added seven assists, five rebounds and four steals. Sara McIntosh added a season-high 26 points and 14 rebounds. Quin Byrd led the Saints with 22 points.

Catawba held Limestone to just 34 percent shooting from the field, but struggled from distance, going just 4-for-30 from deep on the day. The Catawba Indians utilized their pressure defense again, turning 20 Limestone turnovers into 20 points the other way.

The Saints broke free from a tie game after the first seven and a half minutes with a 12-1 run that ran into the start of the second quarter to take a 22-11 lead. The lead got to as much as 12 points at the 9-minute mark. Three straight Catawba layups cut the deficit in half, as Limestone led by four at the halftime break.

Back-to-back buckets from Thorne tied the game at 33 three minutes into the second half, but the Saints held the lead until Thorne's layup with just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter gave the Catawba Indians a 57-56 lead. McIntosh's layup with 1:31 left tied the game at 62 before she scored again with five seconds left to take the lead. Byrd's layup in the half's closing seconds sent the game to overtime tied at 64.

The Saints led with the ball with under 20 seconds to go in overtime, but could only convert the first free throw to take a 71-69 lead. After a Catawba timeout, Thorne scored on a layup with five seconds left and then blocked Limestone's attempt at a game-winner on the other end.

It was all Thorne in the second overtime, as she went on a personal 7-0 run over the opening 1:40 of the period to take a 78-71 lead. The Saints cut the deficit to one with 26 seconds left, but Lauren Ford and Thorne went 4-for-4 at the line down the stretch, icing the Catawba victory.

The Catawba Indians hit the road next week, traveling to Mars Hill on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. tip.