SALISBURY, N.C. - Anderson rallied from a late double-digit deficit, but Catawba held off the Trojans, 70-67, in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Goodman Gym.

Junior guard Amanda Parris scored eight of her team-high 15 points inside the final minute to lead the Trojans' furious rally from an 11-point deficit with 5:54 left, but the Lady Indians were a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final moments to hold Anderson (5-7, 2-2 SAC) at bay. The Trojans dropped their fourth consecutive decision, while Catawba (8-4, 3-1 SAC) won its sixth straight.

In a first half that featured four lead changes, Catawba pushed out to a 17-11 lead at the 13:49 mark of the first half, but the Trojans rallied with an 11-2 outburst to regain a three-point advantage, at 22-19, midway through the frame.

Freshman guard Lesley Woods sparked the surge with a layup and sophomore guard Emily Willoughby followed with a 3-pointer to pull the Trojans within 17-16. A layup off a fastbreak from Alissa Diaz gave Anderson its first lead since the 15:45 mark and another layup from Jaclyn Moore boosted AU's lead to 20-17 - equaling its largest of the half.

Following a basket by Catawba's Maggie Sullivan, the Trojans' Diaz answered with a jumper to cap the run.

The homestanding Lady Indians battled back to even the contest at 22 apiece and snapped the deadlock on a 3-pointer from senior guard Nisha Long to reclaim the edge, pushing out to equal their largest lead of the opening half, at 32-26, with 2:24 remaining.

AU's Willoughby trimmed the deficit to three by connecting on her second trey of the afternoon with 23 seconds left and the teams went to the break with Catawba clinging to a 32-29 lead.

Catawba opened the second half with a 13-6 run to open a double-digit lead and the Trojans were not quite able to recover, with the Lady Indians pushing out to a 14-point cushion twice midway through the final half.

The Trojans refused to surrender, though, climbing back to within two possessions three times inside the final four minutes. Catawba led, 60-49, with 5:54 left following a 3 from Mallary Clay, but Anderson rallied with an 8-2 outburst to pull within five, at 62-57 with 3:40 on the clock.

A fastbreak layup by all-conference senior Dana Hicks gave the Lady Indians a seven-point lead with just more than a minute left, but Parris answered with a traditional three-point play, followed a missed Catawba free throw with a layup and closed her scoring spree with her second 3-pointer of the afternoon with 15 seconds remaining to pull AU within 68-67.

The Trojans immediately called timeout, then sent Clay to the free throw line with five ticks on the clock, where she sank two free throws to set the final margin as AU was unable to get off a shot before the buzzer.

Parris' 15-point effort was a season-high, while Diaz added 12 points. Freshman guard Sierra Simpson narrowly missed her first career double-double with eight points and a team-high nine rfebounds.

Long led all scorers with 17 points, while Hicks added 16 and Chloe Bully chipped in 15.

The Trojans close out their three-game conference road swing at league-leading Newberry on Wednesday. Tip-off versus the Wolves is set for 6 p.m.