ROCK HILL, S.C. – Top-seeded Catawba used a 14-2 first quarter run to pull ahead of eighth seeded UVA Wise and held off repeated comeback attempts by the Highland Cavaliers as they held on for the 96-78 win Tuesday afternoon. The UVA Wise fans and friends, however, were watching something else. Caitlyn Ross, or rather the teammate Caitlyn was looking at during that particular moment.
The NCAA definition of an assist - "A player is credited with an assist when the player makes, in the judgment of the statistician, the principal pass contributing directly to a field goal (or an awarded score of two or three points)". Coming into the game Ross, a fifth-year guard from Kingston, Tennessee, had made 814 of them during her career. That was the UVA Wise record, and had been with each assist she has made for the past season and a half.
The South Atlantic Conference record coming into today was 819 career assists, earned by Wingate's Cynthia Thomas from 1991-95. So many people in the crowd, including the video stream commentators, had one eye on that statistic the entire game.
The thing about assists is that they go both ways as the passee has to make the shot after receiving the pass from the passer. In this case, fate stepped in. Ross tied the record with 1:53 left in the game when she found Sarah Burton open for a three-pointer. She had a chance at the record with 1:03 left but the ball bounced off the rim. Catawba rebounded but then turned the ball over on a bad pass. After a few passes Ross drove into the paint and saw a teammate off to her right past the free throw line extended and threw her the ball.
The player? Only her roommate and best friend and the other fifth-year player on the team – Leah Kestner. Kestner never hesitated and the ball hit nothing but net with 53 seconds left. The Cavs then caused a turnover on the next possession and Ross had a chance at number 821 but the shot was blocked and rebounded by Catawba, but they turned the ball over again on a travel call. At that point, Ross and Kestner were substituted out of the game and into the history books.
With the loss, UVA Wise's season comes to an end. The team finishes the season 12-17.
INSIDE THE GAME
- After the early run by Catawba, Wise mounted at least four runs to cut the lead to single digits, but a 16-4 run over the fourth quarter put the lead out of reach.
- In her final game, Ross shared the team lead in points and rebounds with Sable Burnside as each had 14 points and six rebounds. Burton chipped in 13 points while Macie Ridge had 10 points.
- Lyrik Thorne led the Catawba Indians with 24 points and 10 assists. Sara McIntosh led all players with eight rebounds.
- Wise shot 43.1 percent from the field and hit seven three-pointers.
FAREWELL, FIFTH-YEARS
- Ross and Kestner might be the only players in program history to play five full seasons, thanks to the "Covid year" granted by the NCAA.
- Kestner finishes her career with 373 points, 384 rebounds, and 31 blocks. Her career high in scoring came at Carson-Newman on Jan. 22, 2020, when she had 15 points. She had 14 rebounds twice, in both cases this season – at Newberry and against Anderson.
- Ross will go down as one of the most storied players to ever wear a UVA Wise Jersey. It Is safe to say her 4,584 minutes played will never be broken, along with her 134 starts. She started every game she played in during her career.
- With 14 points today, Ross finishes her career in third place in UVA Wise career scoring with 1, 748 points as she passed Wendi Collier on a pair of free throws with 2:54 remaining in the fourth quarter.
- Her 47 points are the school record, passing Pam Horton's 44 against Pikeville in Jan. 1983. They tied the SAC record.
- The one SAC record she owns outright, another first for a UVA Wise player, is her 820 assists.
- The first career assist by Ross? A pass to Nia Vanzant for a layup with 8:21 to go in the second period against Limestone on Nov. 8, 2019. She finished the game with five assists.
