SALISBURY, N.C. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (12-8, 9-5 South Atlantic Conference) women's basketball team fell to the Catawba Lady Indians (9-9, 7-7 South Atlantic Conference) by a score of 56-47 at Goodman Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

Carson-Newman trailed only by a point at halftime, yet only scored four points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, as the Lady Eagles suffered their third straight loss, marking the longest losing streak of the season.

"I thought our effort was much better today than what we had on the road at Anderson last Wednesday" said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. "Our defense was a little bit better, we went out and defended well to hold Catawba to 56 points. But right now our biggest issues are on the offensive end, and we've been one of the better offensive teams in the league. We just have to go back to what got us averaging 74, 75 points per game."

Carson-Newman was led in scoring by the 10 points of sophomore Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.), her first double-digit scoring performance in the last three games.

The Lady Eagles scored a season-low 47 points in the loss, including a season-low 20 points in the second half.

Carson-Newman began the game on a 7-0 run, although Catawba would answer with a 9-0 run of its own to grab control back of the lead with 12:01 remaining in the first half.

The Lady Eagles fought back and the remainder of the first half was largely back-and-forth, with the score being tied six times and the lead changing three times. A Janna Dixon made free throw for Catawba was all that separated the Lady Eagles and Lady Indians at halftime, as Catawba led 28-27.

Carson-Newman will be at home for the next two games, first facing rival Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday at Holt Fieldhouse at 6 p.m.

The Lady Eagles started cold shooting from the field in the second half, as Catawba opened the second period on a 13-2 run, putting the Lady Indians up 41-29 with 11:31 left in the game.

After Carson-Newman scored only four points in the first 10 minutes of the half, the Lady Eagles would bounce back and cut into Catawba's lead. Burstrom hit a pair of 3-pointers to get the Lady Eagles to within four points on two occasions, and her second one put Catawba's lead at 48-44 with 4:29 left to play.

The Lady Eagles got within three points with 3:51 to go, but Catawba finished the game on an 8-2 to end its four-game losing streak with a 56-47 victory.

Catawba's Chloe Bully led the Lady Indians in scoring with a 24-point performance that included three made 3-pointers, including two in the second half.

Wednesday's game will be carried on the Eagle Sports Network's flagship station WPFT-FM 106.3 FM, with coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m. with "The Countdown to Tipoff," and live video is also available on www.cneagles.com.