NEWBERRY - Excellent free throw shooting down the stretch proved to be the difference for the Newberry College women's basketball team Wednesday night, as the Lady Indians claimed a 64-60 victory over the Mars Hill College Lions in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Newberry head coach Jason Brink claimed his 100th career head coaching victory with the win.

The third-seeded Lady Indians (22-6) now advance to the tournament semifinals on Saturday. Their semifinal will be a rematch of last year's tournament final, as Newberry will play seventh-seed Tusculum College.

Mars Hill's season ends at 14-14 overall.

Ashlee Wright (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) led all scorers with 23 points, going a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe, as the Lady Indians were 31-of-35 (88.6 percent) on free throws in the win. All-SAC first teamer Tonique Frasier (Walterboro, S.C.) earned her 11th double-double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Abby DeBusk led Mars Hill with 20 points, while Allison Schafer earned a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.

The game was a tight affair throughout, as neither team could pull away early. But Newberry was able to jump ahead on a 6-0 run over a 1:10 span to take a 20-14 lead with 8:05 until the half. Mars Hill came as close as one point with just over five minutes to play, but Newberry took a 26-22 lead into the locker rooms.

DeBusk brought the Lions back into the game early in the second half, as the first team all-conference guard nailed two triples to give Mars Hill a 28-26 lead with 17:36 to go.

But the Lady Indians answered back with a 13-2 run of their own to take the lead for good. The run was capped on a Frasier fastbreak layup on an assist from second-team all-conference guard Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.), giving Newberry a 39-30 lead with 11:47 to play. Alexander led the team with four assists and also scored eight points.

Mars Hill came within three points with 8:43 left, when a Schafer jumper capped a 6-0 surge to bring the game to 41-38. But the Lions came no closer, as the Lady Indians went 17-of-20 at the charity stripe from that point to end the game.

The Lions shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the field, while Newberry shot only 32.0 percent (16-of-50) from the floor. But Newberry's 88.6 percent rate from the charity stripe as well as a 42-32 rebounding margin gave the Lady Indians the win, and the pass to Hickory.

The Lady Indians will now embark on their third consecutive trip to the tournament semifinals. Tipoff at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C. is scheduled for 6 p.m.

For more information on the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament, visit www.theSAC.com.