Staff report

The winning percentage for Catawba’s women’s basketball team has been adjusted by the South Atlantic Conference from .762 to .578 as a penalty for a “secondary NCAA rules violation” involving player eligibility.

Catawba is going to drop from a tie for second place to fifth place and will be seeded fifth for the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

Catawba would have been hosting a first-round tournament home game based on its record prior to the penalty, so this is a tough break for the team, especially the three seniors who would have been able to suit up one more time at Goodman Gym.

Catawba’s seed can’t be affected regardless of what happens, win or lose, in Saturday’s game at Lenoir-Rhyne.

As the No. 5 seed, Catawba will be traveling to No. 4 seed Newberry on Wednesday, March 4, for a first-round game. The tournament semifinals and championship will be held in Greenville.

Catawba’s leading scorer Taisha DeShazo  is able to practice with the team, but is serving a four-game suspension mandated by NCAA rules.

She’s already sat out two games. Saturday’s game will be the third. The first round of the tournament would be the fourth, so DeShazo would be eligible to return for the semifinals if Catawba can win its first-round game.

Interim head coach Terence McCutcheon remains in charge of the team.