Special to the Post

GAFFNEY, S.C. — Sophomore Bri Johnson set a school record with eight 3-pointers, but it was not enough Friday as top-seeded Limestone claimed a 76-62 win in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional tournament at the Timken Center in Gaffney, South Carolina.

 

“Limestone is a great team with multiple scorers. I think we gave them a run for their money,” Catawba head coach Angie Morton said. “We didn’t lay down when they got a lead. It was a very fast-paced game. I feel like we have a lot of young players as we played a lot of freshmen and sophomores and it’s a great experience for them.”

The Indians finished their season at 18-12.

Foul trouble and turnovers proved to be the largest downfall for Catawba as they committed 21 fouls and had 20 turnovers. Catawba’s leading scorer, Jada Huntley fouled out without scoring and playing only 12 minutes on the floor. Jada Huntley, the South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year, and Terri Rogers picked up two fouls in the opening two minutes and had three by the half in just two minutes.

Johnson got Catawba started quickly, scoring the first 11 points for the Indians, including three baskets from long range. Limestone led briefly at 8-6 then tied the game at 11-all on a three-pointer from Celestra Warren. When Jasmine Kearse converted a turnover into a three-point play at the 13:03 mark, the Saints led 14-11 and never trailed again.

Johnson again sparked Catawba to open the second half. She canned two 3-pointers, and after Chloe Bully converted a three-point play, Catawba trailed just 39-38 three minutes into the second half. That was as close as Catawba got. Twenty seconds later Huntley picked up two fouls in 10 seconds and went to the bench with four fouls.

Limestone followed with eight straight points to go up 47-38. Catawba never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Johnson posted a career-high 29 points in the loss. She was 8-of-12 from beyond the arc.

“During warm-ups I was feeling pretty good,” she said. “I was just ready for the game. We had put in extra shooting in before we came here. Our shoot-around was great, the practice before was great. I just felt good in the opening minutes and it just kind of went its course.”

Terri Rogers would get to double figures, scoring all 12 of her points after the break.

Limestone was led by Kearse, who tallied 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting. She canned four from behind the arc. Warren added 16 points and seven rebounds, while Precilla Hill and Ayshia McNeil each scored a dozen.