NEWBERRY - Newberry College secured a ten-point lead with ten minutes to play, then converted only one field goal in the remainder of the game to hold on for a 66-64 win over USC Aiken in its season opener at Eleazer Arena Tuesday night.
The Indians (1-0) made nine of 24 from the line during that final fourth of the game, three of those coming consecutively from freshman Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.) after she was fouled on a three-point attempt. Alexander's three free throws proved to be the winning margin, as they were Newberry's last points of the game.
Aiken (2-2) trailed 66-60 with 2:03, but was able to find open cutters on two of the next three possessions to trim the lead to two. After their last timeout, the visitors' Mindy Allee (Clayton, Wisc.) forced an Indian turnover and fed Nola Grant (Aiken, S.C.) for the potential tying score on a breakaway, but Grant's layup was too strong and Newberry secured the rebound.
Newberry used a balanced attack in which 12 players scored. Leading the pack was senior Laura Banda (Holcomb, Kan.), who rang up 16 in the first period on her way to 20 on the evening. The Indian bench contributed 35 points, 14 of those coming from freshman Taquala Cooks (Lithonia, Ga.), compared to USCA's nine bench points.
The Lady Pacers opened the game with senior Benazura Serbecic (Banovici, Bosnia) connecting on her first two attempts from the floor to make the score 4-0, and saw its final lead at 6-5. Newberry used a 17-4 spurt during the heart of the first period to create a double-digit advantage for most of the half, settling for a 37-28 lead at the break.
Aiken's top two leaders turned in performances that exceeded their season point averages. Grant and Kasey Mills (Provo, Utah) notched 21 and 16 points, respectively, with senior Lana Mandic (Sarajevo, Bosnia) contributing 12 markers. Grant led the Lady Pacers with nine boards.
"I was very pleased that we came ready to play tonight," Newberry head coach Jason Brink said following the game. "[USC Aiken] has played three games already against top competition; two of their opponents were ranked in the preseason. We were able to match their level of play.
"It's nice to win, but we can't be satisfied with what we did tonight. We've got to set a standard. We must play smart for 40 minutes. We have to learn how to play big every night."
"The key in our win tonight was rebounding. We had 17 offensive rebounds. We outrebounded them by nine, and attempted 13 more free throws." Tonique Frasier (Walterboro, S.C.) and Tonya Deese (Prosperity, S.C.) carried the rebounding load with 10 and nine, respectively.
"Our free throw shooting has got to get better. Maybe it was first-game jitters. We had nine freshmen take the court tonight who had never played in a college basketball game before, much less a tight game like this one."
Newberry stays at home for its next contest, a Saturday afternoon game against Limestone College at 2 p.m. USC Aiken hosts the Conoco Phillips 66 Tipoff Tournament and plays Tampa Friday night at 7:30.
