Salisbury, N.C.----The eighth-ranked Catawba College Indians led by as many as 19 points Wednesday night, then held off a late Wingate rally en route to an 84-75 victory over the visiting Bulldogs in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action. Catawba improves to 13-2 overall and 8-1 in the SAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 11-7 overall and 6-4 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Catawba shot 52 percent from the field, going 10-for-20 from three-point range (50 percent)
- Wingate shot 35 percent from the field, connecting on three-of-15 shots from deep (20 percent)
- The 'Dogs were 30-for-35 at the free throw line while the Indians went 10-for-22
- Catawba held a 40-35 rebounding advantage; WU had a 12-10 edge in second-chance points

KEY BULLDOGS

- Emily Hege had 25 points and 11 rebounds, going 11-for-13 at the free throw line
- Lauren Sullivan knocked down three triples in her first game of the season, scoring 13 points
- Jaia Wilson added 12 points and six rebounds
- Hannah Clark contributed 10 points, two boards and two assists
- Lia Anderson had six points and three rebounds
- Laney Beale added five points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal

FIRST QUARTER

- A Lyrik Thorne three gave Catawba an 8-0 lead two minutes in
- Beale's three-point play cut the lead to five at 10-5
- Thorne's jumper at the 3:22 mark put the Indians on top 21-9
- WU scored the next nine, getting a Sullivan triple and two Beale free throws to cut the lead to three
- A Saniya Wilson three in the final seconds gave the Indians a 24-18 advantage

SECOND QUARTER

- Thorne's three at the 6:56 mark capped a 14-0 run that gave Catawba a 35-18 lead
- An Anderson jumper and two Clark free throws cut the lead to 13 with 2:33 to go
- A Sara McIntosh jumper in the final seconds put the Indians on top 47-30

THIRD QUARTER

- Thorney's jumper four minutes in put Catawba on top by 19
- Buckets from Wilson and Clark made it 51-36 at the 5:28 mark
- Nala Baker's bucket a minute later stretched the lead back to 17
- Sullivan buried a three with 2:35 remaining to make it 60-48
- Porter's three capped a quick 6-0 spurt that pushed the Catawba lead back to 18
- Two Clark free throws with a second left made it 68-52

FOURTH QUARTER

- Wingate scored the first eight of the fourth quarter, with Hege's jumper making it 68-60
- Catawba countered with a 7-0 run, pushing the lead back to 15 on a Downs jumper with 3:27 left
- A three-point play and two free throws from Wilson pulled the 'Dogs back within 10
- Hege's three-point play with 1:33 remaining made it an eight-point game
- Porter knocked down two free throws with 56 seconds left to make it 81-71
- The Bulldogs could never get the deficit below eight the rest of the way

UP NEXT

- Wingate is at Limestone Saturday at 2 p.m.
- The Bulldogs return home next Wednesday, hosting Lenoir-Rhyne at 5:30 p.m.