HICKORY, N.C. - Newberry College's sophomore Tonique Frasier (Walterboro, S.C.) scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Lady Indians to the program's first Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament title in school history with a 57-50 victory over Tusculum College in the championship game of the 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament held this afternoon at the Catawba Valley Community College.

Newberry, the No. 5 seed, improves to 18-12 overall and clinches the league's automatic bid into next weekend's NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional Tournament. Tusculum, the No. 3 seed, falls to 18-10 overall and awaits word later tonight about the possibility of an at-large bid to the tournament.

Newberry broke open a closely contested first half with a 5-2 run to pull ahead 13-8 at the 10:41 mark on a jumper by freshman Cortney Snowden (Augusta, Ga.). Tusculum responded with a jumper by junior Brooke Underwood (Knoxville, Tenn.) and a three-pointer by junior Chassity Martin (Salem, Va.) to tie the game at 13-13 with 8:06 remaining. The Lady Indians took control of the game at that point and put together a 14-6 run to close the half and led 27-19 at intermission.

Newberry's All-SAC selection, Frasier, led all scorers with 12 points on five-of-nine shooting from the floor, while Tusculum's SAC All-Freshmen selection, Stephany Neptune (Wallkill, NY), led the Pioneers with 10 points on five-of-eight shooting from the field.

In the second half, Tusculum mounted impressive comeback, fueled behind a 22-11 run to tie the game at 42-42 on a pair of free throws by Martin at the 9:25 mark. The game stayed close over the next few minutes with three more ties. Newberry responded by pulling back ahead 53-47 with 1:32 remaining on a jumper by sophomore Ashlee Wright (Myrtle Beach, S.C.). The Lady Indians would then close the game by hitting four straight free throws including a pair by Frasier with :21 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

"I'm very proud of the girls and this is a great accomplishment for our team and Newberry College," Newberry head coach Jason Brink stated.  "For these girls to be able to take the program from last place two years ago to the tournament championship is incredible.  I felt that if we could hold Tusculum to six or fewer three-pointers, that we would stand a chance, and we held them to five."

Frasier led all scorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds en route to Food Lion SAC Tournament MVP honors, while sophomore Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.) added 11 points and was named to the SAC All-Tournament team. Snowden chipped in a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Indians.

Tusculum was led by SAC All-Tournament selection, Neptune, who tallied 14 points and 13 rebounds, while fellow all-tourney selection and teammate, senior Amber Redding (Sevierville, Tenn.) added eight points. SAC All-Freshmen team selection, Ashli Oliver (Kokomo, Ind.) added 10 points for the Pioneers.

Wingate University junior Tanetra Barrett rounded out the SAC All-Tournament selections.

QUOTES:

Newberry head coach Jason Brink: "I said if we could keep them under six 3-pointers made, we could beat them, and they had five.

"I told our kids before the game we are the best rebounding team in the conference, but it doesn't matter unless we do it today. I told them they had to go for every loose ball with all the passion they could."

"I think the national tournament opportunity is very special, but right now all I'm thinking about is this championship. Two years ago, we had to win at Wingate to end a 64-game conference losing streak. Two years later, we win the championship. I'm proud we could represent Newberry College with the first conference (tournament) championship in the program's history."

Tusculum coach Missy Tiber: "We were a young team and we weren't picked to be here. Our goal was to get to Hickory, and we ended up playing for a championship. We shouldn't have been in the game, but we had a chance to win at the end."

2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Championship Game
No. 5 seed Newberry College vs. No. 3 seed Tusculum College
03/05/06 4:00 pm at Hickory, NC (Catawba Valley CC)