GAFFNEY - Newberry freshman forward Carnicha Bellinger (Greenville, S.C.) had a near-perfect shooting night on her way to 27 points to lead the Lady Indians to a 83-63 victory over Limestone College Saturday night at Timken Gymnasium.  Bellinger connected on 10 of 13 shots from the floor and five of six free throws while collecting 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.

Newberry (7-3) broke an 11-11 tie with 12 minutes remaining in the first half with a 9-0 run.  Bellinger scored seven points during the run, and had 17 of the Indians' opening 24 points.

Limestone (1-6) stayed within ten points of Newberry up until the 3:33 mark, when the visitors began an 11-5 run to end the half with a 41-25 lead.

The Lady Indians pushed the lead to 21 points on several occasions in the second half, but the Lady Saints roared back to a 71-61 deficit with a little over five minutes left in the game.  Newberry responded with solid efforts on both ends of the floor to hold Limestone to only a pair of free throws for the remainder of the game to squelch the comeback.

Eleven Indians scored in the contest, including Tonique Frasier (Walterboro, S.C.) and Laura Banda (Holcomb, Kan.) who rang up 16 and 12 points, respectively.  Particularly impressive was Frasier's 6-for-7 performance at the charity stripe, as the freshman had converted only 39% of her foul shots prior to tonight's game.

Karisa Dinges (Mendota, Ill.) and Kristen McDaniel (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) both had perfect shooting nights, Dinges scoring four points on a layup and two foul shots and McDaniel nailing her only trey attempt.  Claire Hogan (Lansing, Mich.) missed one three-point attempt but made two, as well as a two-point field goal and a free throw for a grand total of nine points.

Limestone, suiting only eight players, got the most it could from Monica Adams (Kings Mtn., N.C.).  The freshman center scored 19 and grabbed seven rebounds.  Danielle Vieira (Coatesville, Ind.) and Tiffany Jones (Greer, S.C.) reached double figures with 14 and 10 markers, respectively.

Newberry takes a ten-day break before preparing for a road matchup with Kennesaw State on New Year's Eve.  Limestone hosts Coker College on January 6.