Posted: Jan 28, 2012
SALISBURY, NC -- Catawba took over sole possession of first place in the South Atlantic Conference with a 53-43 victory over visiting Carson-Newman in women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Goodman Gym.
The Catawba Indians win for the 11th time in 12 games to improve to 13-5 overall and 8-2 in the SAC. The Lady Eagles have their two-game winning streak snapped and fall to 10-8 and 4-6.
Catawba used a 10-2 run midway through the first half to grab a 22-13 edge and led comfortably the rest of the way. Nisha Long (Dallas, NC/Gaston Day) had a pair of three-pointers in the spurt and Chloe Bully (Hannut, NELGIUM/KOL Landen) added a third. Long finished the half with 14 points, hitting on all four of her shots from long range.
The Lady Indians led 32-18 at the break and Carson-Newman never got closer than eight in the final 20 minutes. Catawba scored just five points over the first 11 minutes of the second half and saw the Lady Eagles cut the margin to 37-29. Leading 40-31 with six and half minutes left, the Lady Indians used a 6-1 run to go back up by double-digits and seal the win.
Long finished with a game-high 20 points, while Bully added a dozen and Dana Hicks (York, SC/Gaston Day) 11 points and seven rebounds. Catawba shot just 31% and a mere 28% (7-of-28) in the second half. Carson-Newman would shoot 36% for the contest, 41% in the final half, but were out-rebounded by four and committed 25 turnovers to just 18 for Catawba.
Shannon Depew (Newport, TN) scored 16 points to pace the Lady Eagles. She added eight rebounds. Zoriah Williams (Calera, AL) was the next highest scorer for C-N with seven. The 43 points was the fewest allowed by Catawba this season.
Carson-Newman returns to action on Wednesday against Brevard College. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. in Brevard, N.C.