Women’s Basketball closes out 2024 with road win at Newberry

Newberry, S.C. —- The Catawba College women's basketball team led for the final 32 minutes in its 71-57 win at Newberry on Wednesday, closing out the 2024 calendar year with a win in South Atlantic Conference play in Eleazer Arena.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba shot 24-for-57 (42 percent) from the field, while Newberry was 18-of-43 (42 percent) from the floor

- The Catawba Indians were 8-for-20 (40 percent) from three-point range, while keeping the Wolves to 3-for-12 (25 percent) from long range

- Catawba was 15-for-22 (68 percent) at the free throw line; Newberry was 18-of-29 (62 percent) at the charity stripe

- The Catawba Indians out-rebounded the Wolves 34-30 and held a slight 8-5 edge in second-chance points

- Catawba recorded nine assists to 17 turnovers, while Newberry had 10 assists to 22 turnovers; the Catawba Indians enjoyed a 22-12 advantage in points off turnovers

- Catawba led in points in the paints (24-22), fastbreak points (7-0) and bench points (32-20)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Nala Baker scored a team-high 18 points on 5-of-12 shooting

- Kairah Dixon-Booker chipped in 13 points off the bench, including a perfect 3-for-3 mark from three-point range

- Bailee Goodlett was the third Catawba Indian in double figures with 10 points and three steals

- Janiya Foskey recorded nine points and nine rebounds with three steals

- Saniya Wilson also had nine points with five boards

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- Hannah Nimmo's three-pointer gave the Wolves a 9-4 lead in the early going

- Baker scored the first four points of a run of six unanswered from Catawba to regain the lead at the 3:49 mark

- Imani Williams canned a triple to push the Catawba Indians lead to 16-11 with two minutes to go

- Catawba led 18-13 after 10 minutes

SECOND QUARTER

- The Catawba Indian lead grew to nine points after back-to-back baskets from Goodlett and Baker

- An 8-0 Newberry run cut the Wolves' deficit down to a single possession, 27-24, around the 4-minute mark

- Baker responded with a three-pointer and Foskey's tip-in returned it to an eight-point Catawba advantage just a minute later

- Dixon-Booker drained another three-pointer near the end of the half, helping the Catawba Indians to a 37-30 halftime advantage

THIRD QUARTER

- Catawba scored the first five minutes out of the second half locker room; Baker's three-pointer pushed the Catawba lead to 42-30 less than 90 seconds in

- Jess Tomkins recorded two baskets for four of her game-high 25 points to get back within single digits near the midway point

- Another Dixon-Booker triple extended the Catawba lead to 57-41 with under two to play; a Williams free throw with under a second to go gave the visitors a 59-43 lead with 10 minutes to play

FOURTH QUARTER

- Newberry sprinted out of the gates of the fourth quarter, going on a 7-0 run to get back with single digits near the midway point

- Wilson's three-pointer at the 4:31 mark scored the first points of the period for Catawba

- Tomkins' jumper a minute later cut the Wolves' deficit to 62-54, but it would be the last field goal from either team, as Catawba salted away the 14-point bounceback win

GAME NOTES

- Catawba's fifth game in the last six outings with eight or more three-pointers made; the team had just one game with eight or more triples in the first seven games

- Goodlett's sixth straight game scoring in double figures

- Catawba enters the holiday break in sole possession of fourth place in the SAC standings

- They return to play with three straight matchups against top five teams in the league

UP NEXT

- Catawba returns to action in 2025 inside Goodman Arena, hosting Mars Hill at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4