Downs eclipses 1,000 career points as #4 Women’s Basketball downs LR in SAC opener

Salisbury, N.C. —- The 4th-ranked Catawba College women's basketball extended its region-best home winning streak to 23 games on Saturday afternoon, opening South Atlantic Conference play with a 71-56 win over defending conference tournament champion Lenoir-Rhyne in Goodman Arena.

TEAM STATS

- Lenoir-Rhyne was 22-for-53 (42 percent) from the field, while Catawba went 22-of-54 (41 percent) from the floor

- The Catawba Indians shot 7-for-22 (32 percent) from three-point range, while limiting the Bears to 4-of-13 (31 percent) from deep

- Catawba was 20-of-26 (77 percent) from the free throw line; LR was 8-for-10 (80 percent) from the charity stripe

- The Catawba Indians out-rebounded Lenoir-Rhyne 37-30, leading to a 16-5 advantage in second-chance points

- Catawba had 14 assists to 16 turnovers, while forcing the Bears to 20 turnovers to just 10 assists; the Catawba Indians led 22-14 in points off turnovers

- The Bears' bench out-scored Catawba's 18-5

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Nala Baker dropped a career-high 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting with three three-pointers and 6-for-6 shooting from the free throw line along with seven rebounds

- Sara McIntosh added 18 points and eight boards

- Lyrik Thorne chipped in 17 points on a team-high four triples with five rebounds

- Janiya Downs scored nine points to eclipse 1,000 career points

- Downs also grabbed five rebounds and recorded team-highs of four assists and four steals

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out to an 8-2 lead after Blaikley Crooks three-pointer

- A quick 7-0 run pulled Catawba back in front midway through the quarter

- LR retook the lead after another Crooks jumper and an Emily Harman layup, but Thorne answered right back with a triple to tie the game at 12

- Baker's fast-break layup broke the 14-all tie at the 1:17 mark

- Another Baker layup kept Catawba ahead a basket after the opening quarter

SECOND QUARTER

- The second quarter got off to a fast start, as the sides combined for five buckets in the opening two minutes

- Downs' free throws capped a quick 5-0 Catawba spurt to open up a 26-20 advantage

- LR broke a two-minute scoreless drought from both sides with a layup to cut their deficit to two points

- Crooks' jumper tied the game at 28 with just under two minutes to go

- Catawba ended the half on a 7-0 run, including Thorne's banked-in three-pointer at the buzzer, as the Catawba Indians led 35-28 heading into the halftime locker room

THIRD QUARTER

- McIntosh's jumper pushed the Catawba streak to 9-0 dating back to the end of the first half, as the home team led 37-28

- Lenoir-Rhyne continued to stick around, as Crooks' layup cut the Catawba lead to a single point midway through the quarter

- A 7-2 run capped by another Thorne three-pointer pushed Catawba's lead back to six points at the 3:13 mark

- Catawba led 50-48 with 10 minutes to go after Jayda Glass' late three-pointer

FOURTH QUARTER

- Baker's three-pointer at the 8:18 mark doubled Catawba's lead to 55-49

- A pair of McIntosh free throws and Thorne's jumper pushed the Catawba lead to eight points as the Catawba Indians began to pull away

- After LR cut their deficit to five points, Catawba ended the game on a 10-0 run over the final 4:25

- Catawba out-scored the Bears 21-8 in the fourth quarter to earn their 23rd consecutive home victory, dating back to the 2021-22 season

UP NEXT

- Catawba returns to Goodman Arena a week from today, Saturday, Dec. 9, hosting Mars Hill at 2 p.m.