#14 Women's Basketball claims outright SAC title on Senior Day

Salisbury, N.C. – The No. 14 ranked Catawba College Women's Basketball clinched the South Atlantic Conference regular season crown and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming SAC Tournament in dominant fashion on Saturday afternoon, never trailing against the Emory & Henry Wasps in a 90-60 Senior Day win at Goodman Arena. Catawba ends the regular season 22-4 overall and 17-3 in Conference play, while Emory & Henry drops to 10-18 and 5-15 in the SAC. The win was Catawba's fifth straight, with all five coming by double digits and three of them by at least 30-plus points as the Catawba Indians roll into postseason play.

TEAM STATS 

- Catawba connected on 14 more shots, going 35-68 from the floor as Emory & Henry converted 21-59 attempts. The home side also splashed more threes, with 13 makes to nine from the Wasps 

- Neither team got the line much; Emory & Henry players took 13 free throws, making nine of them, while Catawba converted 7-10 attempts  

- On the glass, Catawba outrebounded Emory & Henry 40-35, and also had their way in the paint with a 44-18 scoring margin inside 

- Defensively, Catawba forced 10 more turnovers, causing 32 while giving the ball away just 22 times themselves. Catawba players converted those turnovers into devastating offense, with a 42-21 advantage in points off turnovers 

- Catawba's reserves outscored Emory & Henry's bench 39-24  

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS 

 - Lyrik Thorneled all scorers with a game-high 25 points, on a nearly perfect night from the floor as she shot 9-10, including a 5-6 mark from beyond the arc. Sara McIntosh had nine, and each of Janiya Foskey, Brooklin Ingram and Nala Bakerhad eight 

- Baker led all players with eight rebounds, including hauling in five on the offensive glass in a huge showing on that end of the floor. Ingram corralled six of her own, which was tied for second-most among all players  

- Thorne and Baker were first and second among all players in assists with five and four, respectively  

- Defensively, Thorne also tallied a pair of blocks. She and Baker tied for the team-high in steals, with three apiece, while Janiya Downsand McIntosh each had two  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

FIRST QUARTER 

- Foskey opened the scoring with a layup, with Thorne adding another as Catawba jumped out to 4-0 lead while holding Emory & Henry scoreless for the first 2:40 

- A three from Gracyn Hall to put the Wasps on the board was swiftly answered by three points from McIntosh, followed by Jada Porterand Breanna Yarber trading triples. Five points in two possessions from Yarber brought the Wasps close, as they trailed 8-10 at the 6:25 mark after her triple 

- Mary Spryand Baker each connected as Catawba scored five straight, taking a 15-8 lead through Baker's three with 4:56 in the period and forcing an Emory & Henry timeout  

- That 5-0 run evolved into an 11-2 stretch for Catawba, with Thorne making a pair of free throws, Spry getting another layup to fall, and Saniya Wilson getting on the board. Wilson's bucket with 2:33 left in the quarter put Catawba up 21-10 

- Emory & Henry had an answer from beyond the arc, however, with Reagan Chapman and Yarber each splashing a three to cut the lead to 16-21 at the 1:12 mark. Foskey answered with a jumper with :14 seconds left, sending the game to the first intermission with Catawba leading 23-16 

SECOND QUARTER  

- Catawba came out firing in the second quarter, surging on a 9-0 run as Thorne and Mazie Helpmanknocked down back-to-back threes. Helpman's make at 8:30 pushed Catawba ahead 31-16, and Downs would add a par of three throws :20 seconds later to make it a 13-0 Catawba run tracing back to the first quarter  

- A 5-0 Emory & Henry run was countered by 7-0 Catawba run sparked by Baker's second three at the 5:51 mark, with McIntosh and Thorne each adding layups to put Catawba up by 20 with 4:15 until the half, 40-20 

- Despite the Wasps hit a trio of three-pointers in quick succession via Chapman and Rhyan Harris, Catawba had answers through Thorne and McIntosh as they kept Catawba rolling offensively. Even after a 9-4 Wasps run, Catawba still led 47-31 after a Chapman three with 2:20 to go  

- Abi Svensonwould splash a three late in the quarter, sending Catawba into halftime up 50-34 

THIRD QUARTER  

- A three from Thorne and a layup from Downs began the second half with a 5-0 Catawba run that would be countered by seven unanswered points from Emory & Henry, though the Wasps would still trail 55-41 as Mimi Traynham's layup fell with 6:45 to go in the frame 

- Catawba then broke off a 9-4 run over the next 4:21, led by five from Thorne. Her triple at the 2:15 mark would put Catawba up by 19, 64-45 

- Additional makes from Foskey, Helpman, and Sydney Gueterman would send the home side into the final quarter leading by a score of 70-48  

FOURTH QUARTER  

- While Yarber opened the final frame with seven points in the first four minutes for Emory & Henry, Catawba answered with 15 points before another player score for the Wasps. Ingram, Thorne, and Svenson would all knock down threes as that 15-7 run would see Catawba go up 85-55 through Kaira Dixon-Booker'slayup with 5:09 to go  

 - Ingram would score Catawba's last five points, closing out the win as Catawba ran the clock down in a final statement win to close out the regular season, 90-60  

UP NEXT 

- The No. 14 ranked Catawba Women's Basketball team will began their quest to add the South Atlantic Conference Tournament crown to their regular season title, heading to Rock Hill, S.C. as the No. 1 overall seed to take on the No. 8 seeded Virginia-Wise Cavaliers in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 5. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center