Shaniya Lester (right) with Catawba Valley Community College women’s head basketball coach Tisha England. Lester became the Red Hawks’ all-time leading women’s scorer in a victory on Saturday at the Tarlton Complex./CVCC PHOTO
HobbsDailyReport.com
HICKORY – Shaniya Lester scored 23 points on Saturday, leading Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) past Wake Tech 92-74 to become the top scorer in Red Hawks women’s basketball history.
Lester was one of six CVCC players to score in double figures in a victory at the Tarlton Complex that left the Red Hawks 13-4 overall and 8-1 in Region X. She scored more than 20 points for the third straight game and added eight rebounds and six assists.
A sophomore from Charlotte, Lester broke the CVCC women’s career scoring mark with less than 30 seconds to play in Saturday’s game. She passed 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 in a CVCC press release. “I put in the work. (The scoring record) was something me and Coach (Tisha) 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.”
Said England: “She wanted to exceed that. 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 battle with CVCC ahead 44-35 at the half.
Despite the early advantage, England wasn’t pleased with her team’s play and addressed the issues at halftime.
“We started out slow and just didn’t play defense,” England said in the press release. “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 left in the third quarter.
CVCC exploded in the fourth quarter, outscoring Wake Tech 29-18 — led by sophomore forward Tanisha Wall’s eight points. Wall finished 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 Red Hawks, and freshman Jada Reid had a career-high 12 points.
Khadijah Daniels paced the Eagles (8-7, 5-6 X) with a game-high 33 points.
CVCC next plays on Tuesday, a 5:30 p.m. home game against Patrick Henry Community College that was postponed earlier in the season.
— Reported by CVCC Sports Information