Salisbury, N.C.—Anderson University women's basketball team could not overcome its slow third quarter falling to Catawba, 77-63, on Saturday afternoon at Goodman Gymnasium. The Trojans fall to 0-1 overall and 0-1 in South Atlantic Conference play, while Catawba moves to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in conference action.
"It was so fun to just play basketball again," said head coach Jonathon Barbaree. "I'm really excited about our team. Considering we have had 12 practices with our full team this year and only have 11 active players, I thought we played well."
"Defensively, I made some bad decisions in the first half, but I thought we responded well, said Barbaree. "We are young on the perimeter with all sophomores and freshman so we are going to be learning on the fly all year."
"Now, we have some great film vs one of the best teams in our league to watch and get better," added Barbaree.
KEY STATS
- Anderson shot 34.4 percent from the field on the day, Catawba shot 37.1 percent
- The Trojans shot 29.6 percent (eight-for-27) from three-point range, the Indians shot 35.7 percent from beyond the arc (10-for-28)
- The Indians held a 47-43 edge in rebounds.
- Anderson turned the ball over 21 times, while Catawba had 14 miscues.
- The Black and Gold hit 13-of-24 (54.2%) at the free throw line, while Catawba went 15-for-22 (68.2%).
KEY TROJANS
- Taylor Hair had 23 points, seven rebounds, one block and a steal.
- McKenzie Gadson contributed 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
- Alexis Tate eight points, grabbed nine rebounds and one assist.
- Samantha Michel had six points, five rebounds and four blocked shots.
- J'Mya Cutter chipped in four points, four assists and three steals.
NOTES
- Hair's 23 points was a career-high, while four made three point baskets equaled her career-high from a season ago.
- Catawba snapped a two game losing streak to the Trojans. However, AU has won the past six-of eight matchups vs the Indians.
FIRST QUARTER
- A Cutter 3-point basket in the opening seconds of the game, put the Trojans ahead 3-0.
- The Indians began the game, 0-4, scoring its first basket at the 7:35 mark
- Cutter and Spurlin picked up two fouls during the quarter.
- Catawba opened up a 14-9 lead at the 1:23 mark on a made 3-point basket by Marissa Bruce.
- Catawba pushed the lead to 16-9 after adding a pair of free throws with under a minute to play.
- The Trojans were outrebounded 20-12.
SECOND QUARTER
- Tate cut into the first quarter deficit, 16-11, on an offensive rebound and put-back.
- Michel picked up her third personal foul at the 8:01 mark.
- Cutter steal and B. Bailey layup cuts the lead to 19-17, followed by an exchange of 3-point baskets to set the score at 22-20 with 6:36 to go.
- AU briefly regained the lead, 23-22, on a 3-point basket by Hair with Catawba responding with a quick layup to go ahead, 24-23 with 4:23 to play in the second period.
- The Indians narrowly outscored AU, 12-11, over the final four minutes to hold a two-point halftime lead, 36-34.
THIRD QUARTER
- Catawba opened the third stanza with a 12-4 run, 48-38.
- Gadson's made free throw at the 3:18 mark broke a nearly five minute scoring drought by the Trojans.
- The Indians used a 25 point scoring output to go ahead 61-46.
FOURTH QUARTER
- Michel's two made lay-up within a minute and a half span, cut the lead to 14 at the 7:34 mark.
- Hair banked in a 3-point basket to cut the lead to 12 with 5:52 to play, followed by Berry's 3-point shot to pull to within nine, 67-58.
- After trading 3's just 30 second apart, the Indians pushed the lead to 74-61.
- Gadson's two free-throws would be AU's final points of the night.
UP NEXT
- The Trojans will host Newberry on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 5:30 pm.
