Catawba sports information

SALISBURY —- The 20th-ranked Catawba College women’s basketball team utilized a 31-11 third quarter to move to 13-0 at home this season in an 88-72 win over Coker on Wednesday night.

The Catawba Indians – the top-ranked team in the Southeast in Wednesday’s NCAA regional ranking release – improve to 23-4 overall and 15-2 in the South Atlantic Conference, while the Cobras drop to 10-15 overall and 5-12 in league play.

Lyrik Thorne posted her 12th 20-point game of the season, leading the team with 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Mary Spry added 15 points off the bench, while Janiya Downs recorded 12 points and eight rebounds. Dasia Lambert scored a game-high 21 points for Coker.

Catawba held a slim 17-16 lead after eight minutes, but pairs of free throws from Janiya Foskey and Downs followed by another Downs layup extended the Catawba lead to 23-17. Diamond Jackson’s made free throw cut Coker’s deficit to six after 10 minutes. The Catawba Indians did not trail in the second quarter, but the Cobras tightened the game to a tie at one point before the home team took a four-point lead at the halftime break.

Coker tied the game at multiple points early in the third quarter, but Catawba finished the quarter on a 28-4 run to take complete control of the game, leading 74-50 after three quarters. The Cobras out-scored Catawba by eight in the final period, but the lead did not dip within 20 points until under three minutes left in the contest, as the Catawba Indians cruised to the 16-point victory.

Catawba concludes its regular season on Saturday, hosting Tusculum for Senior Day at 4 p.m.