HARROGATE, Tenn. - The Newberry College women's basketball team held off a second-half Lincoln Memorial comeback effort in order to come away with a South Atlantic Conference victory on Wednesday night. Newberry (11-4, 4-1 SAC) pulled away early but allowed LMU (4-10, 2-3 SAC) to battle back in before solidifying the 64-61 victory.
Ultimately, the scarlet and gray converted on the free-throw opportunities that they needed to thwart the Railsplitters' comeback effort. Newberry shot 10-13 (.769) from the line in second half and 12-15 (.800) on free throws in the game. More importantly, Newberry went 4-4 from the free-throw line in the waning seconds in order to maintain multiple-possession leads down the stretch.
Newberry, unfazed by the travel involved with their longest road trip of the season, heated up early in the game and quickly ran out to a 10-0 lead. LMU battled right back; however, and evened the scarlet and gray for the first time at 14-14 just under midway through the opening period.
The teams tied the score four times and swapped the lead twice before Newberry exploded to a 9-2 run due in large part to the physical post play of Leanne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.). Newberry ended the half up 31-23 and Watson ended the half with 10 points.
The Railsplitters upped their aggressiveness in the second half, forcing Newberry to extend the wings farther into the back court. LMU took hard angles at Newberry's passes and created several turnovers as a result. LMU converted baskets at the other end and chipped into Newberry's lead until tying the score again with 10:20 left to play.
Watson rose to the occasion yet again, driving the lane and converting a jumper despite a hard LMU foul. Watson then knocked down the ensuing free-throw to put Newberry back up by three. Less than two minutes later, Watson managed another three-point play the old fashioned way to pad Newberry's small lead.
In the game's deciding moments, Keisha Henderson (Columbia, S.C.) stepped to the free-throw line with 10 seconds showing on the clock and Newberry clinging to a one-point lead.
Henderson managed crucial conversions on both her free throws, forcing LMU to settle for a three-point attempt in their final possession. Henderson was a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line in the game.
The Railsplitters would actually end up with two looks at a game-tying three pointer thanks to an offensive rebound, but both were well guarded and fell harmlessly to the floor to preserve the 64-61 win for Newberry.
Watson ended her day with a career-high 24 points by shooting 10-19 (.526) from the field and 4-6 (.667) from the free-throw line.
Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio), Newberry's second-leading scorer, ended the night with 15 points. Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) found her way to double-digits as well with 10.
Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia) completed a well-rounded night with a career-high nine assists, three steals, four rebounds and one block.
Newberry will take a full week off before hosting Tusculum in another SAC matchup on Wednesday, January 20. The action will begin at 6 p.m. in Eleazer Arena.
