MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina – Junior forward Taisha DeShazo and senior guard Madison Hallman each scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds as Catawba held off UNCW to earn a 78-75 overtime victory at the Carolinas Challenge held at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Thursday evening.
 
The game served as an exhibition contest for the Indians, who are 9-0 in regular season play and receiving votes in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll. The Seahawks dipped to 3-7 on the season after suffering their third loss in a row.
 
DeShazo and Hallman anchored a group of five Catawba players who scored in double figures. Junior guard Shemya Stanbeck contributed a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds while junior center Talia Barnes chipped in 11 points with five rebounds.
 
Freshman guard Lyrik Thorne completed the double-digit scoring group for the Indians with 10 points after going 4-for-11 from the field, including a 2-for-7 effort from three-point range.
 
Senior guard Lacey Suggs paced four UNCW players in double figures with a game-high 20 points. The White Lake, N.C., product was 7-for-13 from the field, including a 2-of-5 showing from beyond the arc, while sinking all four of her free throws.
 
Redshirt senior guard GiGi Smith and senior guard Ahyiona Vason each added 14 points while redshirt senior center Chinyere Bell made four of five field goal attempts and both free throws en route to a 10-point performance.  
 
Key Moment: The teams traded a basket to open the overtime period before Thorne's three-pointer with 1:36 left in the extra period gave Catawba a 74-71 lead. Smith converted a pair of free throws with 1:04 remaining to close the gap to 74-73 before a pair of free throws by DeShazo moved the lead back to three points. A Bell lay-up trimmed the deficit to 76-75 with 32.5 seconds left, but Stanbeck sealed the win with two free throws with 10.5 seconds remaining.
 
Game Notes:

• Catawba earned its first-ever win over UNCW in seven all-time regular season pairings.
• The teams combined to shoot 26-for-31 from the free throw line … UNCW converted 15 of its 18 attempts while Catawba was 11-for-13.
• The Seahawks played their first regular season neutral site game since the 2013-14 season when they played three games at the Cancun Challenge.
• UNCW set a season high with eight blocked shots against Catawba on Thursday … The eight blocked shots are the most in a game for the Seahawks since Jan. 20, 2017, when they had eight rejections at Hofstra.
• The Seahawks played their first overtime game since Jan. 20, 2017, at Hofstra.
• Suggs authored the ninth 20-point game of her college career, including the second outing this season … She set a season high with 24 points against South Carolina State on Nov. 16.
• Suggs is now averaging 20.0 points per game in two career outings against Catawba … She has made 16 of 25 field goal attempts against the Indians while averaging 4.5 rebounds per game.
• Sophomore guard Zhaneia Thybulle made the first start of her college career in the loss against Catawba … The Elmont, N.Y., native recorded two assists and a steal in nine minutes.
• Smith reached the 1,000-point mark for her college career with two free throws in overtime … She has scored 622 points in two seasons at UNCW after transferring from Old Dominion where she had 378 points in 64 games.
• Vason, who finished with a season-high 14 points, posted her third double-digit scoring effort in the last four outings … She has nine double-digit scoring efforts in her two seasons at UNCW.

Up Next: UNCW closes out non-conference play on Friday evening when the Seahawks face North Carolina at the Carolinas Challenge. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.  

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