#13 Women’s Basketball falls in SAC semis

Rock Hill, S.C. —- The 13th-ranked and top-seed Catawba College women's basketball team fell in the semifinal round of the South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Championship on Thursday afternoon to 4th-seed Wingate, 90-77 at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center.

TEAM STATS

- Wingate shot 29-for-60 (48 percent) from the floor, while Catawba shot 29-of-71 (41 percent)

- The Bulldogs were 5-for-15 (33 percent) from three-point range; the Catawba Indians were 8-for-28 (29 percent) from three-point range

- WU was 27-for-35 (77 percent) from the free throw line, while Catawba was 11-for-15 (73 percent)

- Wingate out-rebounded the Catawba Indians 42-38, but Catawba held the 18-16 edge in second-chance points

- Catawba recorded 14 assists to just 13 turnovers, while Wingate had 13 assists and 16 turnovers; the Bulldogs held a slight 17-16 advantage in points off turnovers

- Both teams had 36 points in the paint, WU led in fastbreak points 16-5 and Catawba led 36-19 in bench points

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Mary Spry scored a team-high 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting with nine rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench

- Sara McIntosh added 14 points and six rebounds with two blocks

- Nala Baker buried four three-pointers en route to 14 points off the bench

- Janiya Downs chipped in 10 points and six boards

- Lyrik Thorne recorded eight points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- Wingate opened up a 10-4 lead after the first four minutes

- Spry's free throws whittled Catawba's deficit to two points at the 4:46 mark

- The Bulldogs responded with the next six points to take an 18-10 lead

- WU's layup in the closing seconds gave them a 25-13 lead at the quarter break

SECOND QUARTER

- Wingate's Hege's extended their lead to 30-15

- Baker's layup cut the Catawba deficit to eight points after the midway point of the second quarter

- Baker's triple brought the Catawba Indians to 37-33 with 53 seconds to go in the half

THIRD QUARTER

- Thorne's three-pointer tied the game at 42 at the 6:23 mark

- Jada Porter's triple gave Catawba a 45-44 lead near the midway point

- Back-to-back Hege baskets returned the lead to Wingate's favor

- The Bulldogs opened up a seven-point lead in the final minute

- Baker responded with a triple to cut the Wingate lead to 62-58 after three quarters

FOURTH QUARTER

- Baker canned another three to tie the game at 72 with 4:48 remaining

- Wingate responded with an 11-0 run to take a double-digit lead in the final minute

- Wilson hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds, but the Bulldogs had already separated themselves

UP NEXT

- Catawba awaits its NCAA Tournament matchup for the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament selection show on Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. on NCAA.com