Women’s college basketball: Catawba pounded at Anderson

Published 4:32 pm Saturday, January 19, 2019

Staff report

ANDERSON, S.C. — Anderson may be headed to a South Atlantic Conference championship in women’s basketball and easily brushed aside Catawba on Saturday afternoon at the Abney Center.

Ranked 13th in Division II, Anderson got a huge game from junior Alexy Mollenhauer. She shot 12-for-20 and scored 29 points in a 100-60 romp.

Anderson (15-2, 9-0) was perfect on free throws, making 18 straight. The Trojans shot 54.4 percent from the field and made half of their 3-point attempts.

Catawba (9-7, 4-5) has struggled on the road and didn’t have any answers for that offensive onslaught.

The Indians are 7-1 at home, but 2-4 on the road.

Madi Hallman scored the first bucket of the game, but that was the only time Catawba led. It was 12-4. It was 21-7.

By the end of the first quarter, the Indians were in a 29-11 hole. It was 53-26 by halftime.

Catawba’s best efforts came from the bench. Talented freshman Mercedes Wampler continued to emerge. She scored 15 points. Up-and-down post player Keyotta Garris was up. She scored 14.

Taisha DeShazo, usually Catawba’s leading scorer, was held to nine. No. 2 scorer Talia Barnes was shut out.

Catawba had an advantage in the turnover battle (19-15) but was battered on the boards, 50-34. The Indians shot 30.3 percent, went 6-for-23 from 3-point range and got only eight points from the foul line.

Catawba plays at Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday.

CATAWBA (60) — Wampler 15, Garris 14, DeShazo 9, Gardner 8, Hallman 6, Stanback 4, Phillips 3, Davie 1, Webb, Barnes, Stevenson.

ANDERSON (100) — Mollenhauer 29, Easter 12, Green 11, Baggett 10, Martin 8, Ketchum 6, Cepeda 6, Hair 6, Grevious 4, Tate 4, Bailey 2, Carroll 2.

Catawba     11     15    16    18   — 60

Anderson   29   24    20    27   — 100