GAFFNEY - Freshman Laura Marquardt (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) hit Newberry's only three-pointer of the night with 2.4 seconds remaining to give the Lady Indians a 70-69 victory over Limestone College Saturday night at the Timken Center. Newberry (6-3) had trailed by as many as 13 points in the second period before mounting a 19-10 run over the final seven minutes to pull out the win over Limestone (3-5).
The Lady Indians have compiled a six-game winning streak this year, the longest such since 1997. Tonight's victory makes Newberry's fourth straight against the Lady Saints.
Down 65-62 with just under two minutes remaining, Tonique Frasier (Walterboro, S.C.) made one of two foul shots and Ashlee Wright (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) connected on a short jumper to knot the contest at 65. A defensive breakdown led to Limestone's Monica Adams' (Kings Mountain, N.C.) basket on the other end. When Newberry failed to answer on its next possession, Frasier fouled Melissa DeVore (Mulberry, Ind.) who made both attempts from the charity stripe. Newberry trailed by four with only 24 seconds remaining.
Newberry point guard Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.) drove for an off-balance shot in the lane which Frasier rebounded and put back to close the gap to 69-67. After Newberry's timeout, Frasier fouled Saints' guard Reagan Robins with 10 seconds remaining. Robins missed both, and Frasier collected the rebound, passing to Alexander to set up the final scoring play.
"Laura hit the biggest shot of her collegiate career tonight," head coach Jason Brink said following the game. "We learned an important lesson tonight: that it's important to show up ready to play every night for a full 40 minutes.
"The 46-point second half was a significant improvement from the first. Hopefully we can reflect on this win over the break, come back, and have the intensity that we showed in the second half for 40 minutes."
Cortney Snowden (Augusta, Ga.) was a force in the second period, scoring all 11 of her points after halftime. Snowden committed three fouls in a minute in the first half and played with four for the entire second period. Alexander scored ten points in the second after only a two-point first half. Frasier finished with 13 markers, nine of those coming in the second.
Newberry scored five points off free throws in a 36-second stretch. Limestone was whistled for three fouls, two of those coming after Indian offensive rebounds, allowing the visitors to cut a seven-point lead to two.
The first half was dreadful for the Lady Indians, as they connected on only 30% of their shots and missed all six three-point attempts. Newberry endured a four-and-a-half minute span with no field goals and only two foul shots as Limestone put together a 9-2 run. The Lady Saints pushed the lead to as many as 15 at 35-20, but baskets from Wright and Tygress Hope (Hephzibah, Ga.) closed the gap to 35-24 at intermission.
Second-half shooting was not much better for the Lady Indians, but the rebounding was: Newberry won the battle of the boards in the second period, 34-23, to outrebound the Lady Saints 53-47. Newberry is 5-2 this season when claiming more rebounds than their opponent.
Newberry's next action is at Morrow, Ga., in the Heritage Bank Classic hosted by Clayton State University, where it will face the University of West Georgia on December 29. Limestone plays at Lander next Tuesday in a 4 p.m. matchup.
