Women’s Basketball rolls to road win at ECSU

Elizabeth City, N.C. —- The Catawba College women's basketball team out-scored Elizabeth City State University by 19 points in the second and third quarters alone on Wednesday night, cruising to a 67-51 road victory. The Lady Indians improve to 16-4 overall, while the Vikings drop to 14-6.

Jada Porter led the way for Catawba with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting including three three-pointers. Lyrik Thorne added 13 points, four assists and four steals, while Janiya Downs recorded 12 points and six rebounds. NyAsia Blango poured in six three-pointers for a game-high 18 points for Elizabeth City State.

Catawba shot 50 percent from both the field and from three-point range (7-for-14) on the night, while limiting the Vikings to just 9-of-38 from two-point range. ECSU knocked down nine three-pointers to help close the final margin. 

The two sides played neck-and-neck for the first seven and a half minutes before five straight Catawba points edged the Lady Indians ahead with a four-point lead after ten minutes. The second quarter more clearly belonged to Catawba, as a pair of Porter triples helped push the visitors' halftime advantage to 35-22.

Catawba went on separate 9-2 and 9-0 runs at the bookends of the third quarter, before pushing the lead to as much as 25 points midway through the fourth. ECSU scored 11 of the game's final 13 points to cut into Catawba's sizable lead.

The Lady Indians return to Goodman Gym on Saturday, hosting Carson-Newman in a matchup of the leaders of each division in the South Atlantic Conference. Tip is set for 2 p.m.