GREENEVILLE, TENN. - The Newberry College women's basketball team earned its sixth loss of the season by losing on the road to the No. 8 Tusculum Pioneers Wednesday night, 74-63.
Janine Ward (Tallevast, Fla.) set season high 15 points and led Newberry in rebounds with 11. It was the first double-double in her career at Newberry. Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) also played well, earning a team high 17 points and nine rebounds. Bulcher sank 7-of-11 from field goal range and 3-of-4 from the foul line.
Stephany Neptune (Wallkill, N.Y.) led her Pioneers to victory with game highs in both points (19) and assists (4). She shot 6-for-10 from the floor and pulled down eight boards. The leading rebounder for Tusculum was Jasmine Parker (Rex, Ga.) with nine boards. The sophomore also dished out three assists and scored 12 points.
The scarlet and gray started the game by bringing the fight right to the home team, taking an 11-4 lead in the first five minutes. The Pioneers battled back and tied the game with 6:25 remaining in the first half. Both teams went battled back and forth as the lead changed five times before the half. Unfortunately, Newberry entered the break losing, 34-30.
Newberry played great defense in the first half and won the rebounding battle by four boards. On the other hand, poor shooting from the field hurt the scarlet and gray as they shot only 29% from the floor. Although the shots weren't falling, they made up for it by nailing 9-11 from the free throw line. The Pioneers only made it to the line four times and sank two attempts.
Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.) played very well in the first half, earning a team high 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field. She kept her team in the game and was even the team's only scorer for a 12 minute stretch. Alexander finished the game with 15 points and five assists. The leading scorer for Tusculum at halftime was Neptune with nine points and four rebounds.
The scarlet and gray looked strong at the beginning of the second half and started it with a 7-0 run. Newberry controlled the first 10 minutes of the half but Tusculum took back their lead with nine minutes remaining. The score remained close until Tusculum took over with an 11-0 run. The run gave the Pioneers a ten point lead with a minute remaining, all but sealing their victory.
Newberry once again won the rebounding battle but could not knock down their shots, shooting 35.3% in the second half. NC also allowed Tusculum to shoot 45.5% in the final period.
Bulcher came up big in the second half, leading her team in both points (13) and rebounds (6). Parker scored a team high 11 points in the second half and shot perfectly from the floor (2-for-2) and from the foul line (8-for-8).
The game came down to field goal shooting as the scarlet and gray only managed to make 32.3% of their shots from the floor. They uncharacteristically could not find their outside touch, making only 4-of-18 from behind the arc.
The loss puts the Newberry College women's basketball team at 11-6 overall and 4-2 in the South Atlantic Conference. They will return home this Saturday to take on Catawba at 2 p.m. Tusculum (15-2, 5-1 in the SAC) will stay home to play Wingate this Saturday at 2 p.m.
