USCA OPENS SEASON, NEW ARENA WITH IMPRESSIVE WIN
JOHNSON'S DOUBLE DOUBLE LEADS LADY PACERS PAST CATAWBA 69-61
AIKEN, S.C.-- Junior forward Morgan Johnson made her Lady Pacer debut in impressive fashion with 23 points and 11 rebounds as USC Aiken held off a stubborn Catawba team 69-61 to christen the brand new 3,500-seat Convocation Center on Tuesday night in non-conference women’s basketball action. The Lady Pacers, ranked 21st in the preseason Women’s Division II Bulletin Top 25 poll, picked up their seventh win in the last 10 season openers and even the series with the Indians 4-4. (PHOTO BY: Ginny Southworth)
Neither team was able to build more than a four-point spread in a nip-and-tuck affair throughout the opening 14 minutes. Sicilia LoSauro came off the Catawba bench to knock down back-to-back threes vaulting the Lady Indians from a three-point deficit to a 25-24 advantage. LoSauro finished with 12 of the team’s 14 bench points coming on 4-of-7 from long range.
Johnson converted two-straight lay-ups to ignite a 13-5 Lady Pacer run over the final 6:22 to stake a 37-29 lead at the break. Freshman Nakia Pinkney scored five of her six points in the game over the final 2:03 of the half. After opening 2-of-4 from deep, the normally sharp-shooting Lady Pacers missed 10-straight until Pinkney’s trey with 2:03 left.
Scoring five of the team’s first seven points to open the second stanza, Johnson led the Lady Pacers to its largest bulge of the game 46-33 with 15:43 to play. The junior from Marietta, Ga. finished 8-of-11 from the field and 7-of-11 at the stripe to go with three assists and three blocks in 32 minutes.
Catawba proved they were game for challenge, reeling off nine-straight points following back-to-back buckets from Brittany Higgins to pull within 46-42 at the 13:21 mark. Higgins poured in a team-best 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting.
A Meredith Legg three-pointer at 12:06 stemmed the tide as Legg finished with 16 points, 10 coming in the first half, on 3-of-10 from downtown.
Johnson’s bucket with 11:17 to play extended the USCA lead to 51-42, but represented the last Lady Pacer field goal until Johnson scored again with 5:13 left. Catawba was able to close within five with 5:41 remaining on one of two Higgins free throws.
Nisha Long got the Lady Indians to 58-54 with 2:28 to play, but USC Aiken closed out the game at the line, converting 9-of-11 attempts for the 69-61 victory.
Jordon Thomas contributed 10 points, seven boards, and five assists off the bench while Avonte Williams added seven points and seven rebounds.
Ne’Keithia Howard pulled down 16 rebounds to go with 12 points for Catawba’s cause. The Lady Indians shot 35.2 percent from the field including 5-of-16 from deep.
USC Aiken finished 23-of-55 from the floor while posting 20 assists to just 12 turnovers.
USC Aiken will travel to Morrow, Ga. on Saturday, November 24 for their Peach Belt Conference opener with seventh-ranked Clayton State. Game time is set for 2:00 PM. Catawba returns to Salisbury, N.C. for their home opener with Molloy on Friday at 8:00 PM.
Newspaper Box Score
Catawba vs USC Aiken
11/20/07 7:30 PM at Aiken, S.C. (Convocation Center)
USC AIKEN 69, CATAWBA 61
CATAWBA (0-1)
Higgins, Brittany 8-16 2-4 18; Howard, NeKeithia 5-11 2-4 12; LoSauro, Sicilia 4-8 0-0 12; Bartlett, Cristi 3-10 0-1 7; Long, Nisha 2-9 2-2 6; Hampton, Hillary 2-8 0-0 4; Crane, Sara 1-3 0-0 2; Clark, Cameron 0-2 0-0 0; Whitley, Brooke 0-1 0-0 0; Long, Kisha 0-1 0-0 0; Schellenburg, Candace 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-71 6-11 61.
USC AIKEN (1-0)
Johnson, Morgan 8-11 7-11 23; Legg, Meredith 5-12 3-3 16; Thomas, Jordon 3-6 4-4 10; Williams, Avonte 3-9 1-2 7; Pinkney, Nakia 2-5 1-2 6; Leppanen, Satu 1-4 2-2 4; Starnes, Megan 1-6 1-2 3; Broadwater, LaToshia 0-0 0-1 0; Harris, Triahna 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 19-27 69.
Catawba...................... 29 32 - 61
USC Aiken................... 37 32 - 69
3-point goals--Catawba 5-16 (LoSauro, Sicilia 4-7; Bartlett, Cristi 1-1; Long, Nisha 0-2; Hampton, Hillary 0-3; Clark, Cameron 0-2; Schellenburg,Candace 0-1), USC Aiken 4-18 (Legg, Meredith 3-10; Pinkney, Nakia 1-3; Williams, Avonte 0-1; Leppanen, Satu 0-1; Starnes, Megan 0-2; Thomas, Jordon 0-1). Fouled out--Catawba-Bartlett, Cristi, USC Aiken-None. Rebounds--Catawba 44 (Howard, NeKeithia 16), USC Aiken 44 (Johnson, Morgan 11). Assists--Catawba 9 (Long, Nisha 4), USC Aiken 20 (Thomas, Jordon 5). Total fouls--Catawba 19, USC Aiken 12. Technical fouls--Catawba-None, USC Aiken-None. A-705.