HICKORY, N.C. — Six Catawba Valley Community College women's basketball players reached double figures in scoring in a 92-74 victory against visiting Wake Tech at the Tarlton Complex on Saturday.
Shaniya Lester led the 19th-ranked Red Hawks (13-4, 8-1 in Region X play) on Saturday, scoring 23 points — her third-straight game with at least 20 points. She added eight rebounds and six assists.
Lester, a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., was also honored with less than 30 seconds to go in Saturday's game after breaking the all-time CVCC women's basketball record for points.
Lester passes Anika Jones, who recorded 703 points during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
"I didn't think I would hit it this early," Lester said of the record. "I put in the work. (The scoring record) was something me and coach England talked about. I told her my goals. I told her I wanted to try to in the record book for different things. (The scoring record) was one of them."
CVCC head women's basketball coach Tisha England is thrilled that Lester was able to achieve the goal of breaking the career scoring milestone for the Red Hawks.
"She wanted to exceed that," England said. "She put the work in. I've been pushing her every single day about making sure she is staying in the gym, working on her game, her character and her attitude. It takes so much to make (breaking the scoring record) happen. She's been doing a great job of handling the pressure. I'm proud of her. It doesn't surprise me at all about Shaniya. She's a great kid and a great student-athlete. I'm just glad to be a part of it and share that moment with her."
The Red Hawks and Eagles battled early and often in Saturday's Region X contest with CVCC gaining a 44-35 lead by halftime.
Despite the early advantage, England was not pleased with her team's play and addressed the issues at halftime.
"We started out slow and just didn't play defense," England said. "We were sluggish and not communicating. Our defense triggers our offense. After halftime, we had to regroup. Our girls fought through the third quarter and fourth quarter. We fought through it. That's been our story — the heart and determination all year long."
Wake Tech trailed as little as six points — 56-50 — with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
However, CVCC exploded in the fourth quarter, outscoring Wake Tech 29-18 in the final stanza — led by sophomore forward Tanisha Wall's eight points. Wall finished Saturday's game with a double double — 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Fellow sophomores Nikkyana McCaskill (16 points), Tory Agrusa (14 points, eight assists) and Joyous Wilson (10 points, eight rebounds) also helped lead the charge, and CVCC freshman Jada Reid also tallied a career-high 12 points.
Khadijah Daniels paced the Eagles (8-7, 5-6 in Region X) with a game-high 33 points
Up next for the Red Hawks is a make up game against Patrick Henry Community College at home on Tuesday. Tip off is slated for 5:30 p.m.
