Foskey explodes for 28 to kick off 2025 with a win for Women’s Basketball

Salisbury, N.C. —-- Catawba senior forward Janiya Foskey dropped a career-high 28 points including 14 points from the foul line, as Catawba Women's Basketball started 2025 off with a victory, topping Mars Hill 75-68 in South Atlantic Conference play from Goodman Arena.

TEAM STATISTICS

- Catawba shot 23-for-57 (40 percent) from the field, while holding Mars Hill 25-of-66 (38 percent) from the floor

- The Catawba Indians were 6-for-21 (29 percent) from three-point range; the Lions were 4-for-20 (20 percent) from deep

- MHU was 14-of-21 (67 percent) from the free throw line, while Catawba struggled to 23-of-37 (62 percent) from the charity stripe

- Catawba out-rebounded Mars Hill 44-42, but the Lions' 15 offensive rebounds led to a 13-6 lead in second-chance points

- The Catawba Indians recorded 16 assists to 28 turnovers, while MHU had 11 assists to 26 turnovers; Mars Hill held a slight 31-30 edge in points off turnovers

- The Lions led in points in the paint (42-32) and fastbreak points (20-16); Catawba scored 21 bench points to MHU's 18

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Foskey's 28 points came on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and 14-for-17 from the foul line, while adding nine rebounds and a game-high five steals

- Bailee Goodlett chipped in 13 points off 6-for-8 shooting at the free throw line

- Nala Baker recorded 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals

- Saniya Wilson was the leading scorer off the bench with eight points and a team-high four assists

- Kairah Dixon-Booker added five points and seven boards in 30 minutes off the bench

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER

- A 6-0 Mars Hill run helped the Lions open up an early 10-3 lead

- Layups from Baker and Foskey helped Catawba cut their deficit to two minutes with under a minute to go

- Foskey was fouled on a late-period heave with less than a second left and sunk all three free throws to give the Catawba Indians the lead after 10 minutes, 20-18

SECOND QUARTER

- Wilson's three-pointer helped grow the Catawba advantage to 28-22 near the midway point of the quarter

- Lauren Arnold's bucket brought Mars Hill within two points at the 2:21 mark

- Foskey scored another late-period basket as Catawba led 39-36 at the halftime break

THIRD QUARTER

- Catawba sprinted out of the gates in the second half, scoring the first eight points of the third quarter, forcing a Mars Hill timeout just over two minutes in, as Catawba opened up an 11-point lead

- The Catawba Indians led by as much as 14 and as little as eight the rest of the way in the third quarter, but the two traded baskets for much of the final eight minutes; Catawba led 62-50 heading into the fourth

FOURTH QUARTER

- Goodlett's three-pointer at the 8:07 opened up a dominant 16-point lead for the Catawba Indians, 67-51

- Five straight points from the Lions brought MHU's deficit back to 11 points

- Foskey's and-one tip-in with under five minutes remaining gave Catawba its largest lead of the game at 73-56

- Mars Hill finished the game on a 10-0 run, scoring 12 of the game's last 14 points, with the final score resembling a closer game, 75-68

GAME NOTES

- Foskey's 28 points are the most scored by a Catawba player this season

- The senior's third 20-point game of the season after never reaching 20 in her previous three seasons

- The outing brings Foskey to 11.6 points per game on 51 percent shooting from the field and 84 percent shooting at the free throw line

- Catawba's 750th win in program history

- The Catawba Indians' third straight win in the first game of the new year

UP NEXT

- Catawba hits the road next week, traveling to Wingate for a 5:30 p.m. tip with the Bulldogs on Wednesday, Jan. 8