SPARTANBURG - Newberry College used trademark pressure defense and solid offensive poise to defeat Converse College, 83-64, Tuesday night at Hannah Gymnasium. 

Newberry (6-2) forced 30 Converse turnovers and converted those into 33 points.  Converse (2-8) had better shooting percentages from the floor and from the line, but could not overcome the 14-turnover deficit.  Newberry outrebounded the All-Stars 42-34.

Freshman Carnicha Bellinger (Greenville, S.C.), straight off her South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week honor announced Monday, came up big again, collecting 21 points and eight rebounds, both game highs.  This is Bellinger's sixth double-digit scoring game in eight tries.

The Indians saw offensive production from 11 players tonight.  In addition to Bellinger's game high, guards Laura Banda (Holcomb, Kan.) and Ashley Marine (Peachtree City, Ga.) put in 13 points each, knocking down two treys apiece.  Point guard Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.) scored nine points and added four assists and four boards.

The contest remained tight throughout the first 13 minutes of play, with Converse drawing even with Newberry for the fifth time at 22-all.  A pair of Banda baskets, a steal-and-layup by Bellinger, and Alexander's layup gave the visitors a 9-0 run and control of the game.  Newberry went into intermission leading 40-33, but losing the rebounding war 22-19, a point head coach Jason Brink emphasized during the break.

Converse kept the second-half margin in the 11-point range until Newberry executed a 9-2 spurt midway through the period to go up by 17.  The All-Stars chipped away again until another 8-3 Indian run expanded the lead to 20 at 80-60 with under three minutes left.

Converse's leading scorer was Lauren Mueller (Foley, Ala.), who scored all 13 of her points before halftime.  Melissa Ballard (Saluda, N.C.) and Olivia Freda (Hilton Head, S.C.) notched 11 points each.

Newberry travels Friday to take on Erskine College in a matchup that will begin at 7 p.m.