HICKORY, N.C. - The Newberry College women's basketball team squandered an 11-point halftime lead, but held on late to defeat the Lenoir-Rhyne College Bears, 83-76, in Shuford Memorial Gym on Saturday. The Lady Indians move to 16-6 overall and 6-4 in South Atlantic Conference play.
Tacarra Harris (Tupelo, Miss.) earned her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds to lead five Lady Indians in double figures. Tonique Frasier (Walterboro, S.C.) scored 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out a career-high seven assists.
Lenoir-Rhyne scored on its first possession, but the Lady Indians tied the game up on their next trip down the floor, and never trailed again.
A 14-3 run in the middle of the first half pushed Newberry's lead to as many as 14 in the opening period and the Lady Indians took a 39-28 lead to the locker room.
However, L-R quickly made a game of it with an 11-1 run, narrowing the lead to 46-43 with 14:07 left.
Jami Safrit - who led the Bears with 20 points - tied the game up with 8:25 to play, nailing a triple to knot the game up at 56-all. The game would be tied on four more occasions before the end of the second half, but Newberry never allowed Lenoir-Rhyne to jump ahead.
The Lady Indians connected on 32-of-39 free throw attempts in the game, and scored their final 13 points of the game from the charity stripe to seal their fifth straight road victory in league play.
Leanne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) scored 13 points in the game, while Janine Ward (Tallevast, Fla.) and Ashlee Wright (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 each.
Lenoir-Rhyne was led by Safrit's 20-point effort, while Amber Holt added 15 points. LaCourtney Rann chipped in with 14 points and Briana Stanton added 13 off the bench.
The Lady Indians return home Wednesday night for a 6 p.m. tipoff against Catawba. Newberry defeated Catawba, 63-49, in the two teams' first meeting in Salisbury this season.
The game will also be Newberry's "Think Pink" night for breast cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game to help show their support.
