GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Catawba College held on in the fourth quarter to defeat Tusculum University 64-56 in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball Saturday evening at Pioneer Arena.
The Indians (4-5, 2-2 SAC) led by 15 points early in the third quarter but saw the Pioneers (0-8, 0-4 SAC) pull within one in the fourth, but outscored Tusculum 14-7 over the final 4 1/2 minutes.
Mary Spry had a game-high 18 points along with nine rebounds for the Indians, with 13 points from Brooklin Ingram and 12 from Imani Williams. Catawba shot 35.6 percent (21-for-59) from the field but was 16-for-18 from the foul line as a team.
Dora Van Rijs, Ema Nagyova and Angela Gomez scored 11 points apiece for the Pioneers, with nine points apiece from Martina Garofalo and Maddison Neale. Tusculum shot 39.2 percent (20-for-51) from the field and sank eight three-pointers in 26 attempts, but the Pioneers were outscored 30-16 in the paint and outrebounded by a 40-32 margin by the Indians.
In addition to her season high of 11 points, Van Rijs added six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 30 minutes for the Pioneers. Julia Szwichtenberg finished with a team-high seven rebounds and had three points in 23 minutes in her first start of the season for Tusculum.
Spry shot 7-for-12 from the field and sank all three of her foul attempts in 26 minutes, with a game-high 10 rebounds from Julie Janus for Catawba. Ingram was just 5-for-16 from the field for the Indians, making 3-of-10 from three-point range and adding four rebounds in 29 minutes.
Two straight three-pointers from Ingram gave Catawba an early 6-0 lead, but Tusculum scored 10 in a row which included two baskets from Gomez and back-to-back threes from Garofalo and Van Rijs as the Pioneers led 10-6 with 3:46 left in the first quarter. Catawba responded with eight points in a row to go on top 14-10 with 1:26 left in the quarter, and Spry made two free throws in the closing seconds after a three from Neale to leave Catawba with a 16-13 lead after the first period.
Catawba’s lead swung between four and nine points in the second quarter, with Tusculum moving within 19-15 on a jumper by Gomez with 8:25 left in the period and Spry pushing the Indians on top 25-16 on a turnaround jumper with 6:47 remaining. The Pioneers’ last field goal of the half came on a jumper by Aisha Patel with 4:07 to go, but Catawba would only score four points the rest of the way to go into intermission with a 33-25 lead.
Spry led all players with 14 points in the first half for Catawba while Ingram had eight points. The Indians shot 37.5 percent (12-for-32) in the half and went 4-for-11 on three-pointers. Nagyova and Gomez paced the Pioneers with six points apiece in the half, with Tusculum shooting 34.6 percent (9-for-26) from the field and just 3-for-8 at the foul line.
Seven straight points out of the halftime break pushed Catawba on top 40-25, and the lead remained at 44-31 following two free throws from Janus with 5:09 left in the third quarter. A three-pointer from Nagyova and a late layup from Gomez helped Tusculum cut the margin to 46-38 heading to the final period.
Van Rijs scored consecutive baskets to open the fourth quarter and bring the Pioneers within 46-42, but a bucket from Williams and a layup by Ingram put Catawba back on top 50-42 with 7:17 to play. The Pioneers would then run off seven unanswered points, starting with a three-pointer from Nagyova and ending on a jumper from Szwichtenberg with 4:32 left to bring Tusculum within 50-49. However, the Indians got a three-point play from Kaira Dixon-Booker to go on top 53-49 on the next possession, and a three-pointer from Ingram with 1:19 left gave Catawba a 58-51 lead. The Indians would parade to the foul line in the final minute, making 6-for-8 at the stripe while Tusculum’s lone points came on three free throws from Neale with 12.8 seconds remaining.
Tusculum scored 21 points off 15 Catawba turnovers, while the Indians turned 19 turnovers from the Pioneers into 20 points. Tusculum had a 16-12 edge in fast break scoring, while Catawba had a 12-5 lead in second-chance points.
The Pioneers will play their next seven games on the road, starting with a visit to Mars Hill on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. The Lions (4-6, 1-3 SAC) lost their third straight game on Saturday with a 76-56 setback to ninth-ranked Coker, their first home loss of the season after three victories.
