Zack Ciboth, Sports Editor
The UNC Pembroke women’s basketball team fell the Catawba Indians in the NCAA Southeast Regional Quarterfinal Friday night. A fast start by the Indians helped them control the game early and despite the Braves clawing their way back in this game over the course of the game the Indians held on for the 58-48 win.
“That was just a tough start, I felt like their (Catawba) intensity, their length defensively, they really got after it and so I thought that was the story of the first half. The second half we were able to handle some pressure, we were able to score at a little higher rate. I thought that was the difference in the game and our girls fought hard to the end against Catawba,” Head basketball coach John Haskins said.
The #1 seeded Indians move on to the semifinals of the Southeast Region where they will await their opponent. For the #4 seeded Braves their run ends, and they finish the season with a 23-8 record and a Conference Carolinas record of 15-3.
The Indians started the game off hot with an 8-0 run before UNCP could score a run. The Braves managed to put together a scoring surge capped off with a three-pointer from Courtney Smith to cut Catawba’s lead down to 10-7. The Indians quickly turned things back in their favor and took a 16-9 lead to end the first quarter.
Catawba kept the momentum rolling to start of the second quarter and eventually a 11-0 run by the Indians before the Braves broke the scoring drought with a layup from Kayla Hall. Catawba kept their 27-11 lead rolling. The Braves started to gain momentum to close the half, but the Indians closed things out for the 32-17 lead heading into the locker room.
The Braves came out the second half on fire going on a 7-0 run that extended into a 9-0 and eventually a 14-3 run to cut the lead down to 35-30 before the Indianans picked things up with a 6-0 run to take a 41-30 leading heading into the fourth quarter
The fourth quarter saw an offensive surge for both sides with Catawba taking the advantage and rolling with it despite the Braves fighting back and trying to stay in this game. The Indians continued to close things out and hold off the Braves for the win.
“We’ve got a lot of experience on the floor, but I thought we kind of got rattled and panicked, made some bad decisions against their press. We had to fight back but, in the end, just didn’t make enough shots,” Haskins said.
Zaria Clark and Kalaya Hall each led the Braves with 12 points each. Courtney Smith followed with eight points, Lilian Flantos and Aniah McManus each had five points and multiple Braves finished with two points each.