Catawba Sports Information

WINGATE —  Sara McIntosh scored 17 points and Catawba prevailed for the fifth straight time since the holiday break, winning 73-68 at Wingate on Wednesday night at Cuddy Arena.

The Indians improved to 14-3 overall and 8-1 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Bulldogs fell to 11-6 and 4-4.

The game was tightly contested throughout with 11 ties and 11 lead changes. Both teams took their largest leads in the third quarter with Wingate going up at 39-33 in the opening minutes after the half.

Catawba used a 12-0 run late in the period to take a 53-45 edge.

The Bulldogs cut the margin to 62-60 after a three-pointer by Lauren Sullivan with 4:21 left. Wingate had a chance to tie, but a steal by Lyrik Thorne led to a Janiya Downs basket and a jumper by McIntosh with 1:47 remaining restored a 66-60 edge.

The Indians made two of four free throws over the next minute before another three-pointer by Sullivan made it 68-65 with 45 seconds to go.

McIntosh hit three-of-four at the stripe in the final 13 seconds to salt away the win for Catawba.

McIntosh hit on 7-of-9 shots in scoring her 17 points. She added seven rebounds. Thorne added 13 points and Nala Baker got 10 off the bench. Downs grabbed 10 rebounds.

Bryanna Troutman (Salisbury) had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds for Wingate in the loss. Sullivan and Hannah Clark each scored 13.

Both teams shot 50 percent in the second half and finished at 46 percent. The Indians held a 42-30 edge in rebounds with a dozen off the offensive glass for a 13-1 advantage in second-chance points. Although the turnovers were even at 16 apiece, Catawba enjoyed a 26-10 edge in scoring off the miscues.

Catawba is at home on Saturday, hosting Anderson at 2 p.m.

Catawba     19    14   21   19   — 73

Wingate     17   18   12    21  — 68

Catawba — McIntosh 17, Thorne 13, Baker 10, Foskey 7, Wampler 7, Downs 5, Dubose 5, Porter 5, Spry 4.

Wingate — Troutman 20, Clark 13, Sullivan 13, Garrison 5, Barringer 5, Davis 4, Wilson 4, Hege 2, Beale 2.