NEWBERRY - The Newberry College women's basketball team earned its first home loss of the season by falling to the Mars Hill Lions Wednesday night, 81-80.

Laura Marquardt (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) played fantastic basketball for the scarlet and gray, earning a game high 28 points. She shot 9-for14 from field goal range and 5-for-7 from behind the three-point line. Monica Alexander also played well and earned 21 points and seven rebounds. Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) was Newberry's leading rebounder with 14 boards.

Jessica Blanford (Concord, N.C.) led her team to victory with a team high 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field. Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.), the SAC's leading scorer, earned 16 points and three assists.

Both teams came out hungry in the first half, but the Lions shot well and earned the first advantage in the game. With 10 minutes left in the half, Mars Hill went up 21-16, giving the Lions a lead they would hold for the remainder of the half. Newberry would enter the locker room at the break down, 32-26.

Newberry struggled from the field in the first half and only managed to shoot 10-for-27 from the floor. Mars Hill earned the early advantage by shooting 46.4% from the field and 42.9% from downtown. Despite 12 first half turnovers, the scarlet and gray managed to keep the deficit low by out-rebounding the Lions, 21 to 13.

Marquardt caught fire early, scoring 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting. She was the only player to score more than four points by halftime. Blanford led the Lions during scoring in the opening period with eight points.

NC came out with a new fire and tied the game at 38 all with 16 minutes remaining in the game. The home team's lead was forfeited once again, but a late rally gave Newberry a 67-62 with 5:34 remaining on the clock. It was the team's largest lead of the game.

The Lions came charging back and took a one point lead when Megan Clevenger (Parrottsville, Tenn.) drained a layup with 8 seconds remaining. Newberry called timeout to draw up one last play to win the game. Janine Ward (Tallevast, Fla.) received the inbounds pass and barreled through the lane but missed the layup. Bulcher grabbed her eighth offensive rebound but missed the game winning put-back as Newberry earned its first loss of the season at Eleazer Arena.

Despite the comeback, Newberry only managed to shoot 13-for-34 in the second half. The scarlet and gray made their comeback by out-rebounding the opposition (21 to 13) and limiting themselves to only four turnovers. Unfortunately, Mars Hill only missed nine shots in the entire second half.

Wednesday's game not only marked the team's first home loss, it was also the first time Newberry allowed a team to shoot above 50% from the field this season. On the night, the Lions sank 32-of-56 from the floor and 6-for-12 from three-point range. On a positive note, Newberry dominated the glass with a positive rebounding margin of 16.

Wednesday's loss puts the Newberry College women's basketball team at 13-8 overall and 6-4 in the SAC. They will return to action at Eleazer Arena this Saturday to take on Lenoir-Rhyne at 2 p.m. Mars Hill (12-9, 5-5 in the SAC) will return home this Saturday to play Carson-Newman at 2 p.m.