GREENWOOD - In non-conference action, the Newberry College women's basketball team faced off against Lander on Saturday afternoon. Newberry matched up well against the Bearcats, but struggled to shut down Lander's offense, ultimately falling 74-63.
Newberry (6-2) allowed several scoring runs to favor the Bearcats and struggled to manage baskets for minutes at a time. Lander (6-0) was ranked 23rd in the nation coming into the game.
The Bearcats managed 9 blocks against the scarlet and gray and held Newberry to just 38.1% (24-63) from the field.
Lander was hot out of the gate, connecting on a few early three-point attempts to build an early lead. Newberry responded; however, and closed the gap, eventually tying the score at 14-14 with roughly 13 minutes left to play in the period.
The teams battled evenly over the next sequence of possessions, seeing five ties and four lead changes. Midway through the opening period; however, Lander went on another tear and kept Newberry off the scoreboard for almost five minutes. Over those same five minutes, Lander exploded for 11 points to build another large lead.
Newberry managed only 7 points in the final 10 minutes of the first half and ended the period on the wrong side of a 20-7 run. The Bearcats enjoyed a 38-26 lead at the intermission.
The scarlet and gray gave a full effort in the second half, but failed to do more than virtually exchange possessions with the Bearcats in an attempt to cut down the lead.
Newberry did cut the lead to eight after an Amy Browne (Maroochydore, Australia) jumper cut the lead to 54-46 midway through the second period.
Lander continued to use the three-point shot to their advantage, converting on several attempts to eventually stretch the lead to 17, the largest of the game, with four minutes to play. Lander shot 33.3% (8-24) on three point attempts in the game.
Newberry did not back down, but ultimately failed to complete a late comeback effort.
Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) managed her sixth double-double in as many games with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Her sixth consecutive double-double will move her up the NCAA Division-II all-time record book for consecutive games with a double-double. She is now tied for tenth on that list.
Amy Browne led all Newbery scorers with 22 points, 14 of which came in the second half. Leanne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) was also a double-digit scorer with 11 points on the night. Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia), who led the South Atlantic Conference in assists coming into the game, had another impressive outing with 8 points and 6 assists.
Newberry will return home to face Pfeiffer on December 15, 2009, in Eleazer Arena. The game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
