NEWBERRY - The Lady Indians of Newberry College trimmed a 14-point Presbyterian lead to four in the final three minutes of the game, but 10-of-12 foul shooting by the visitors over that span preserved a 73-67 win for the Lady Blue Hose in women's college basketball action Wednesday night at Eleazer Arena.
Freshman Ashley Marine (Peachtree City, Ga.) hit three trifectas during the thwarted comeback, her final one drawing Newberry within four points. Newberry forced a Presbyterian turnover and had 24 seconds in which to work, but missed its next attempt. The Blue Hose converted its last four free throws and iced the outcome.
Presbyterian's Rebecca Wessinger (Laurens, S.C.) poured in a career-high 29 points in 32 minutes to power PC to the victory.
Poor first-half shooting by both squads left Newberry (10-5, 1-3 South Atlantic Conference) with its lowest halftime point total of the season, a 23-18 deficit. Both teams were under 27% in the first period from the floor.
One would not have expected a Presbyterian win by the way the game started. PC (4-12, 2-2 SAC) faced a fast nine-point hole at 11-2, nine minutes into the game, and did not convert its first field goal until 10:15. However, Newberry could not capitalize on the Blue Hose draught, scoring only three points in a nine-minute span in the heart of the period. PC scored the last eight points of the half to tie, then go ahead of, the Lady Indians.
The Blue Hose mounted double-digit leads on three separate occasions in the second half, only to allow Newberry to trim that edge to a handful of points each time.
Newberry was not without its warriors, as four Indians scored in double figures: Carnicha Bellinger (Greenville, S.C.) with 15, Tonique Frasier (Walterboro, S.C.) with 12, and Ashley Marine (Peachtree City, Ga.) and Taquala Cooks (Lithonia, Ga.) with 11 each. Bellinger and Frasier notched double-doubles, adding 12 and 10 rebounds, respectively.
PC's Bridget Takach (Chapin, S.C.) and Wesley Campbell (Greenville, S.C.) recorded 12 and 11 points, respectively, as the only other Blue Hose in double figures.
Both teams take the road for Saturday's contests; Newberry travels to Tusculum for a 2 p.m. contest, while Presbyterian will face Lenoir-Rhyne at the same time.
