The Golden Bulls huddled together and nearly defeated the hosting Catawba Indians during the Comfort Suites Classic
Box Score
Box Score vs. Catawba
Salisbury, NC - The Johnson C. Smith University women's basketball team suffered a tough 73-65 loss to Catawba College on Friday night during the Comfort Suites Classic hosted by Catawba at the Goodman Gymnasium. JCSU moves to 0-3 in the standings, while the Indians improve to 2-2.
JCSU jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage with field goals from sophomore forward
Briya Dancer (Duncanville, TX) and junior guard
Deanna Downer (Elberton, GA). Catawba answered with a three-pointer and two free throws to grab the lead. The Golden Bull faced an uphill battle until midway through the period.
Down 17-14 with 8:36 remaining before halftime, freshman guard
LaTondra Morrow (Charlotte, NC) tied the game with a three-pointer. That shot was the beginning of a 7-0 scoring run for JCSU to move them ahead 21-17. The Indians fought back and the contest reached its sixth tie with less than three minutes left in the opening.
The Golden Bull went into the locker room at halftime down 34-30. Senior guard
Brittany Dorsett (Winston-Salem, NC) had a team-high eight points, followed by junior guard
Karnina Bunch (Vicksburg, MS) and Dancer with five points each. JCSU shot 34.3% (12-35) in the first compared to 48% (13-27) for Catawba.
In the second half, Catawba had their lead trimmed to one and stretched to 12 points. The Golden Bulls faced a deficit until the conclusion of the contest. The biggest disparities were rebounding (43-34) and free throw shooting in favor of Catawba. The Indians shot 85% (17-20) from the foul line compared to 71% (5-7) for JCSU.
Catawba had four players with double digit point totals. Chloe Bully scored a game-high 17 points and Elizabeth Merritt produced 16 points and six rebounds. Antionette McPhail had a double-double of 14 points and 10 boards.
Three Golden Bulls scored double figures, led by Dorsett with 14 points and three rebounds. Bunch added 12 points, four assists, and four boards; while Dancer contributed with 10 points and three rebounds.
“We had a much stronger showing tonight as a team; if we could take away a few lapses in defensive effort on some possessions it's a different outcome,” said head coach Stephen Joyner, Jr.
JCSU returns to action on Saturday, November 24th against Lenoir-Rhyne University for day two of the Catawba Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. inside Goodman Gymnasium.
