ANDERSON - The Newberry College women's basketball team earned its fifth straight win Saturday afternoon by defeating the Anderson Trojans on the road, 70-63.
Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) was the leading scorer for the scarlet and gray and set a new career high of 19 points. She sank 7-of-9 shots from the field and 5-of-7 from the charity stripe. Keisha Henderson (Columbia, S.C.) also had a career day by setting her new highs in both points (11) and assists (7). The leading rebounder for Newberry was Helen McKinney who also set a new career high with 16 rebounds.
Newberry controlled the majority of the first half but could not pull away with a significant lead. The Trojans scored the first six points but the scarlet and gray went on an 8-0 run to take a lead that they would not give up until the second half. Newberry's lead grew to as much as five points but Anderson stayed in the game and only trailed 36-34 at halftime.
Both teams took care of the ball well in the first half with five turnovers a piece. The scarlet and gray's shooting percentage put them on top, nailing 48% of their field goal attempts compared to the Trojans' 38%. Newberry also beat Anderson in the low post and earned 14 more points in the paint. Henderson started the game off well with nine of her 11 points coming in the first half.
Newberry came out of the break looking great and earned an eight point lead with 15 minutes remaining. The Trojans played hard and even took a one point lead with about eight minutes left on the clock. Newberry quickly regained the lead and finished the final eight minutes by outscoring Anderson 21-13 to earn the win.
The keys to the game for the scarlet and gray were their field goal shooting and their second chance points. Although they only made one more field goal than the Trojans, they outshot their opponents 42% to 37%. They also took advantage of their offensive rebounds and scored 17 second chance points, seven more than Anderson.
The win was the fifth straight victory for the Newberry College women's basketball team which puts them at 8-2 overall. The team returns home for their next game this Tuesday, December 16 against Limestone at 4 p.m.
