WISE – The UVA Wise women's basketball team had their most solid game to date as they cruised past Catawba 87-65 Tuesday evening on the Quillen Court. During the game, UVA Wise senior forward/center
Katlin Burger passed the 1,000 point mark for her career.
It was the most dominating win over a team by UVA Wise since the Highland Cavaliers downed Tusculum 84-58 in Wise this past February. It also marks the second season in a row the Cavs have beaten the Catawba Indians, who were the South Atlantic Conference champions last season, in Wise. Last season's matchup saw UVA Wise knock off eighth-ranked Catawba 81-71.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: UVA Wise 87, Catawba 65
Records: UVA Wise (5-2, 2-1 SAC); Catawba (3-3, 1-2 SAC)
Location: Wise, VA | The Quillen Court in the David J. Prior Convocation Center
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Catawba opened the game with a three-pointer off a Cavalier turnover, and went out to an 8-4 lead early. A three-pointer by
Sable Burnside cut the lead to one, and the teams swapped baskets over the next three minutes until a layup by
Makenzie Bremer put the Cavs up 15-12. Janiya Foskey then hit a turnaround jump shot in the paint to cut the lead to one, but Burger's second basket of the game sparked an 8-0 run that extended into the next quarter.
- The Catawba Indians tried to cut into the lead, getting it down to four on two occasions, but the Cavs used a long scoring drought by Catawba to push the lead to 40-26 with 2:52 left in the half. The lead would be cut to 12 late in the half, but a free throw by Bremer and a basket by Burnside in the final seconds gave UVA Wise the 45-30 lead at the half.
- The Cavs had a 14 point lead when Burnside passed the ball in from the right side to Burger at the low block, she turned and drove to the middle of the paint, turned around, and with 6:39 left in the third quarter hit the jump shot to notch points no. 1,000 and 1,001 of her career. UVA Wise would later extend the lead even further, leading 64-34 at the end of the third quarter.
- UVA Wise would maintain the 30 point margin for the majority of the final stanza, leading by 33 with 3:52 remaining following a free throw by
Allyson Fleenor. Catawba would attempt a late comeback, outscoring the Cavs 12-2 over the final 2:02 to finish the game with the 87-65 score.
- Nala Baker had a career night, scoring 26 points to lead all players. Mazie Helpman helped out with 12 points.
GETTING WISE
- Burger led the Cavs with 22 points off of 10-14 shooting from the field along with three steals and two blocks.. She finished the game with 1,009 career points and becomes the 25
th member of the women's basketball 1,000 point club at UVA Wise, joining former teammates
Caitlyn Ross, Nia Vanzant, and
Kalee Johnson.
- Burnside added in 14 points as well as a game-high nine rebounds. She, along with Burger, had two blocks each to lead the team. She finished the game just shy of a career milestone as she now has 599 career points.
- Bremer chipped in 12 points, while
Jalie Ruehling has six rebounds and six assists and
Ella Karst dished out five assists of her own.
- The Cavs hit 53.2% of their shots while holding Catawba to 34.8%. They also hit a season-high 35.7% from three-point range and out-rebounded Catawba by a 48-33 margin.
- The win ties the all-time series at 4-4, with the Cavs improving to 4-1 at home against Catawba.
UP NEXT
The team will take a short break for Thanksgiving before hitting the road to face Lenoir Rhyne Saturday evening in Hickory, North Carolina. The Bears are currently 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the SAC thus far following a 68-55 loss to Wingate earlier today.
The game is now scheduled for 5 p.m. after it was moved to accommodate L-R's NCAA Division II Football Championship Second Round game vs. Virginia Union, which the Bears are hosting.
