DAVIDSON, N.C. - In its final game of the 2009 calendar year, the Newberry College women's basketball team fell to Davidson in a closely-played, highly competitive contest. Newberry led at the half, but Davidson outplayed the scarlet gray in the second half en route to a 64-55 victory.
Newberry fell to 8-3 on the year while Davidson improved to 4-7.
“I'm proud of this team for playing the way it did,” said head coach Sean Page. “This was a Division I opponent which expected to have a much easier time in this game but we were in this game from start to finish. Our players weren't intimidated by their venue and went out there and made them play our game.”
The Wildcats improved their shooting effort in the second half and ended the night at 36.5% (23-63) from the field after shooting just 26.5% (9-34) in the first.
Newberry was thwarted by a 26.7% (8-30) field-goal effort in the second half. The scarlet and gray continued to show improvement on free throws; however, going 11-13 (84.6%) in the game. Newberry outrebounded the Wildcats, 47-45, as well.
It was the first game after the holiday break for both programs, and the two teams showed their rustiness in the opening minutes. The first four minutes of the game saw only two points, seven turnovers and 11 missed field goals between the two teams.
Davidson finally converted a layup attempt, but then Newberry exploded towards a 12-2 run immediately after to lead by eight points midway through the opening half. The scarlet and gray saw their biggest lead of the half four minutes later when Keisha Henderson (Columbia, S.C.) made a move to the basket and converted a tough layup to put Newberry up by nine.
Davidson rallied back to tie the game at 23-23, but Leanne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) knocked down a 10-foot jump shot at the buzzer to put Newberry back ahead going into the locker room.
Newberry harassed the Wildcats with menacing defense in the first period to force the Wildcats' low field goal-percentage and eight turnovers.
Davidson opened the second half with five unanswered points in the opening minute before Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) knocked down a three pointer to tie the score again at 28-28. McKinney knocked down another three pointer minutes later give Newberry a 35-32 advantage with 15:09 left to play.
Davidson responded with six straight points which embarked them on a 13-4 scoring run. Leeara Creet (Brisbane, Australia) converted a three-point play the old fashioned way to end the scoring drought and cut Davidson's lead to three points with nine minutes left. Newberry continued to battle back and tied the game at 46-46 less than a minute later.
The teams exchanged possessions a few times resulting in the sixth tie and third lead change of the second half. Newberry was plagued by another Davidson scoring run after scoring just two points over the next eight minutes. McKinney knocked down yet another three pointer with a minute remaining to cut the lead to four points, but that was as close as Newberry would get as the Wildcats converted their free throws down the stretch to solidify the win.
McKinney led Newberry's scorers with 12 points, nine of which coming from second-half three-point field goals. Watson led all players in the game with 16 rebounds on the night. She also had six points and two steals. Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) had 10 points and eight rebounds in the effort.
Newberry will return to action in the New Year on January 2, 2010, at Carson-Newman. The game will be the scarlet and gray's second South Atlantic Conference game of the season and they look to improve their conference record to 2-0. The two teams split in their season series last season with each team earning victories on their home court. The Eagles are 10-0 so far this season.
