NEWBERRY - The Newberry College women's basketball team kicked off the 2009 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament on the right foot Wednesday with a win against the Catawba Catawba Indians, 77-48.
Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) earned her sixth double-double in the last seven games with 16 points and a team high 11 rebounds. The junior center nailed seven of her 10 shots from the field. Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) led the scarlet and gray in points with 20 on 7-for-11 shooting from the field.
Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.) and Laura Marquardt (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) played their final games in Eleazer Arena and put on great performances. Marquardt put up 16 points while Alexander posted a game high eight assists, 11 points, and nine rebounds. Alexander now needs seven assists in order to reach the all time assists record at Newberry College.
Brittany Higgins (Takoma Park, Md.) led all scorers for the Catawba Indians with 20 points on 7-for-18 shooting from field goal range. Dana Hicks (York, S.C.) was scoreless but still posted eight boards, twice as many as any of her teammates.
Higgins made the first bucket of the opening half, giving Catawba its only lead of the game. Newberry pushed the tempo early in the game and earned a double digit lead within the first nine minutes of the game. The pressure did not stop there, as a Marquardt three-pointer pushed Newberry's lead to 21 points with two minutes remaining in the half. NC entered the halftime break with the lead, 46-25.
The scarlet and gray shot lights out in the first half, nailing 56.3% of their field goal attempts. They also went 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. On defense, NC held the opposition to 32.3% shooting from the field and 20% shooting from downtown. NC, averaging 17.2 turnovers a game, handled the ball well and committed only five TO's.
Despite three players in double-digits by the half, Newberry was led by Bulcher who scored a team high 16 points in the first half. She shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor and grabbed four rebounds. Higgins led Catawba in points with 14 on 5-for-10 shooting.
Newberry showed no mercy in the second half as they continued to improve upon the lead. The third seeded scarlet and gray opened the period with a 12-5 scoring run and improved their lead to thirty points with seven minutes left. NC shot over 90% from the foul line in the second half and walked away with the 29 point victory.
Janine Ward (Tallevast, Fla.) had a solid second half and tied the team high in both points (6) and rebounds (6). In her final game at Eleazer Arena, Mashanda Thomas (Richmond, Va.) played solid second half defense and pulled down three boards.
Newberry won by doing what they do best, playing defense and crashing the glass. The scarlet and gray held their opponent to under 50 points for the fifth time this season and posted a season high 53 rebounds. NC earned 18 offensive rebounds in the contest on way to 21 second chance points.
The Newberry College women's basketball team now stands at 18-10 this season. The win advances the scarlet and gray to the semifinals of the SAC Tournament where they will face second seeded Lenoir Rhyne. The contest will take place this Saturday at 3 pm in Hickory, N.C.
