Staff report

HICKORY — Catawba’s women’s basketball team is still in first place, but things tightened up some on Wednesday.

Catawba, ranked 12th in Division II at tip-off, lost 81-66 at Lenoir-Rhyne, the second-place team in the South Atlantic Conference.

Catawba won on the boards, but 4-for-20 3-point shooting and 25 turnovers are hard to overcome against any SAC opponent on the road.

Lyrik Thorne had an off shooting night, but still led the Indians with 17 points and four steals.

Janiya Downs was solid when she was on the floor, but foul trouble limited her to 17 minutes. She had 12 points and six rebounds and had her best shooting game in a while. Sara McIntosh also scored 12.

Two Catawba starters didn’t score. The bench had a pretty good night with 25 points, but the Indians needed a great one.

Mikeba Jones scored 20 for the Bears (17-7, 12-4). Blaikley Crooks had 19.

The Bears shot 47 percent to Catawba’s 40. They won the turnover battle 25-17, and that’s a stat Catawba doesn’t often lose.

L-R got to the foul line a whopping 35 times and made 26 free throws.

Catawba (17-4, 12-3) is still undefeated at home and plays at home this Saturday against Coker.

Catawba     17   15   15    19   — 66

L-R            18     23   22   18   — 81

CATAWBA — Thorne 17, Downs 12, McIntosh 12, Foskey 9, Ingram 4, Spry 4, Gueterman 3, Dixon-Booker 3, Wilson 2.