SALISBURY — Whoever said history doesn’t repeat itself was lying.

The UNC Pembroke women’s basketball team returned to the Division II NCAA Tournament Friday for a first-round rematch against Catawba, as the same two schools met with the same two seeds, at the same place at same time on the same day of the week, with each roster nearly the same as the March before.

And the game played out largely the same too.

The Lady Braves struggled getting shots to fall and fell to the top-seeded Indians in a 58-48 decision in a game with distinct overtones of last year’s 57-40 Catawba victory.

“Similar,” UNCP coach John Haskins said. “I didn’t think we turned it over as much last year; we got a lot of good shots last year, we just couldn’t make them. We actually made a few in the second half (tonight), but we just didn’t make any 3s. We went downhill and got to the rim a little bit, Zaria (Clark) made a few jumpers, but we just didn’t make any 3s, and didn’t really get a lot inside, around the basket. … It just seemed like their defensive intensity and their length bothered us, and they switched things and pushed us out on the floor, and I don’t think we quite got the quality of shots that we got (against Catawba) in December.”

UNCP (23-8), the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s Southeast Region, shot 17-for-51 (33.3%) from the field and was 3-for-21 (14.3%) from 3.

The loss ends a historic season for the Lady Braves, who won a Conference Carolinas East Division championship, claimed their second-straight conference tournament title and won a Division-II-era school-record 23 games. It also brings to an end the coaching tenure of Haskins, who will retire after 20 seasons leading the UNCP women’s program, 35 years as a coach at the school and 43 years coaching in college athletics.

Clark and Kalaya Hall each scored 12 points for UNCP, with Clark grabbing eight rebounds and Hall six. Courtney Smith scored eight points for the Braves, Aniah McManus scored five points with five rebounds and four assists and Lillian Flantos scored five points with seven rebounds; those three, Hall and Alcenia Purnell are each fifth-year seniors and played their final collegiate game.

Catawba (24-5) advances to face No. 5 Georgia Soutwestern in the second round Saturday after the Hurricanes defeated No. 4 Lenoir-Rhyne 62-59 in overtime Friday.

Janiya Downs scored 13 points with six rebounds and Nala Baker had 13 points with seven rebounds for Catawba (24-5). Lyrik Thorne was held to 10 points, half her season average, and had six rebounds for the Indians.

The Braves defense, in fact, played well enough to win, holding Catawba to a 17-for-56 (30.4%) clip from the floor and a 6-for-30 mark from distance.

“They’re a tough opponent; they’ve got a stingy defense, where they make it hard to get in the paint and force you to make 3-pointers,” Catawba coach Terence McCutcheon said. “Just giving them credit for having a good game plan, but I’m just proud of our team for finding a way to win.”

“Our three trips here (the last two seasons), we gave up 57, 66 and 58. And we did have a chance to win in December, but those are good enough defensive statistics to give you a chance to win. But basketball, you’ve got to put the ball in the hole. … In the conference tournament game, we were (15)-for-27 on the 3, and I didn’t expect that tonight, but I did expect … we’d be able to make some shots.”

UNCP didn’t score for over four minutes to start the game, with Catawba taking an 8-0 lead, and didn’t hit a field goal until Hannah Russell’s jumper at the 3:49 mark of the first quarter, which made it a 10-4 game. Smith’s hit a triple to pull UNCP to a 10-7 gap before a 6-0 spurt by Catawba; Purnell made a layup just before the quarter expired for UNCP and the Indians led 16-9 after a quarter.

“Just a tough start,” Haskins said. “I thought their intensity, their length defensively, they really got after us. We average just over 13 turnovers a game; we had 14 in the first half, and they led to easy buckets for them. And then them driving downhill in the first half — we’re fouling them, they’re shooting layups, so I thought that was the story of the first half.”

Another Braves dry spell to start the second quarter — over 6 1/2 minutes without a point — allowed Catawba to go on an 11-0 run and take a 27-9 lead before a Hall layup with 3:22 left in the half. But the Braves stayed in the game with three more baskets over the second-quarter stretch run and trailed 32-17 at half.

Like last year’s tournament meeting, UNCP did have one shining moment in its NCAA appearance. A year ago, that came with a run to open the first half; Friday it came to start the second half.

The Braves outscored Catawba 13-3 over the first 4:55 of the third quarter, starting with two quick baskets including a 3 from Flantos, and continuing with makes by Hall, McManus and Smith, pulling UNCP to a 35-30 deficit.

“We told them at halftime, we’ll fight back,” Haskins said. “We’re not out of this game, and we did claw back — we just didn’t make enough shots, and at key points and times they were either making a 3, or getting an offensive rebound and a second opportunity.”

But UNCP was held scoreless again for the last half of the third quarter, with two big baskets by Baker extending Catawba’s lead to 41-30 at the end of the frame.

“They just kept telling each other, we’re good, we’re fine,” McCutcheon said. “I told them (UNCP) was going to make a run — this is basketball. The third quarter they’re going to make a run, and let us maintain our emotions so we can be good. I’m just proud of the team for sticking it out.”

Three free throws by Smith, followed by two free throws and a basket by Clark, pulled UNCP within seven at 46-39 with 4:30 left in the game. But the Braves never got any closer; Baker hit another big 3 for Catawba for a 54-41 lead with 1:43 to play.

“I think our inability to hit a 3-point shot — we knock down a couple of 3-point shots, suddenly that’s a one- or two-possession game with 4 1/2 minutes to go instead of an eight- or 10-point game,” Haskins said. “I thought that was the difference in the game; our girls fought back hard. … Catawba’s just got a lot of weapons and they made timely shots; they didn’t make a lot of 3s, but they made timely shots when they needed to.”

Finality accompanied the sound of the buzzer for the Braves’ five seniors and Haskins, who finishes his career alongside them by design.

“I’ve been thinking since the COVID year this may be the last (for me),” Haskins said. “They all wanted to come back (for a fifth year), which meant a lot, and if they were going to come back I was coming back. I was excited to spend another season (with them); we’ve done some good things.”

All the program has accomplished during the seniors’ careers, Haskins said, reflects on their character and leadership.

“We just don’t have any issues, and a lot of it is because of the tone they set every day,” Haskins said. “So I couldn’t be more appreciative of them, and if I was back next year I’d miss the hell out of them because they’re all good basketball players also.”

While these Braves won banners that will hang in the English E. Jones Center and earned a pair of championship rings, Smith said the off-court camaraderie is the biggest thing she’ll take from her time in the program.

“I’ve enjoyed my past five years here (at UNCP),” Smith said. “I’m from Georgia, and I’ll miss all of them, coach especially. My freshman year, I was kind of scared, I was the only one. But everybody took me in and made me comfortable, and that’s the best thing, being able to walk out of here with a great group of friends and being friends for a lifetime.”

As the 65-year-old Haskins exits the sidelines, he too is appreciative for the relationships built, especially with this group of Lady Braves.

“I preach all the time, you remember some games, you remember some road trips, you remember some things — but it’s the relationships you build during the course of your time here. This team has really built a tight bond, and I think 20 years from now they’ll still be in touch. My first team when I took over the girls program was that way, and I think this group will be the same way.”