#8 Women's Basketball wreaks havoc on offensive glass in win at Tusculum

Greeneville, Tenn. —- The 8th-ranked Catawba College women's basketball team improved to 7-1 in South Atlantic Conference action on Saturday, grabbing a season-high 24 offensive rebounds in the 90-81 victory at Tusculum University. 

TEAM STATS

- Tusculum shot 31-for-63 (49 percent); Catawba was 34-of-78 (44 percent) from the field

- The Catawba Indians made seven of 23 (30 percent) from three-point range, while holding the Pioneers to 7-for-26 (27 percent) from deep

- TU went 12-for-19 (63 percent) from the free throw line. Catawba was 15-of-25 (60 percent) from the charity stripe

- The Catawba Indians out-rebounded Tusculum 45-38, corralling 24 offensive rebounds to hold a 19-15 advantage in second-chance points

- The Pioneers recorded 17 assists to 18 turnovers; Catawba had 12 assists and 11 turnovers, but were out-scored 21-16 in points off turnovers

- TU out-scored the Catawba Indians 46-38 in points in the paint and 17-9 on fastbreak, but it was Catawba's bench that out-scored Tusculum's 31-23

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Lyrik Thorne recorded her sixth straight game of 20 or more points, scoring a game-high 23 points with five rebounds and four assists

- Sara McIntosh added 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting with three steals

- Janiya Downs recorded her second double-double of the season, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds with three assists

- Janiya Foskey scored a season-high nine points in nine minutes off the bench with five rebounds

- Mary Spry was perfect from the field, hitting her lone field goal attempt on a three-pointer and going 4-for-4 at the free throw line for seven points in 10 minutes

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- McIntosh's early jumper and a three-pointer from Jada Porter gave Catawba an early 5-0 lead in the opening 35 seconds

- Tusculum responded, tying the game at 8 just under the 8-minute mark on Ni'Kiah Chesterfield's layup

- An 8-0 Catawba run fueled by five unanswered from Thorne opened up a 19-10 advantage for the visitors with four minutes to go in the first quarter

- Natalie Lara Fuertes canned a three-pointer to double-up the Pioneers 24-12 at the 2-minute mark

- A late TU three-pointer cut the hosts' deficit to 26-17 in a fast-paced opening 10 minutes

SECOND QUARTER

- Tusculum scored the quarter's first seven points, extending their run to 10-0 to cut Catawba's lead to two points in the opening minutes of the second frame

- The Catawba Indians answered right back, scoring nine unanswered to extend the lead back to 35-24 just under the 7-minute mark

- Chesterfield's layup brought the Pioneer deficit back to six points at the 3:43 mark

- Thorne responded with back-to-back jumpers to return the lead to double figures

- Foskey's late layup stalled a Tusculum run, as an up-and-down first half ended with the Catawba Indians taking a 45-38 advantage into the locker room

THIRD QUARTER

- McIntosh's personal 5-0 run kickstarted Catawba's second half, taking a 50-38 lead in the first 64 seconds

- Tusculum answered back with back-to-back layups to stay within striking distance

- Thorne's jumper near the 3-minute mark opened up Catawba's largest lead to that point at 61-46

- The Catawba Indians kept TU at an arm's distance heading into the final 10 minutes, leading 67-53 after three quarters

FOURTH QUARTER

- Wilson's third bucket of the first three and a half minutes of the fourth quarter put the reigning regional champs up by a game-high 16 points

- Lexi Patty's layup brought Tusculum's deficit back to single digits near the midway point of the quarter

- The Catawba lead was cut down to as little as six points in the final minute, but Thorne and Nala Baker salted the game away with late free throws, reaching the 90-point mark for the first time this calendar year

UP NEXT

- The Catawba Indians return to Goodman Arena on Wednesday, looking to avenge their latest loss at Wingate with their second matchup with the Bulldogs in as many weeks

- Tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.