NEWBERRY - The Newberry College women's basketball team struggled early but bounced back in the second half en route to picking up its first home win of the season, 75-54, over North Greenville University.

Newberry (3-2) had three players in double-digit scoring including leading scorer Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) who put up her first double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds. McKinney's performance was her third straight 20-plus point scoring game.

The Wolves fell behind in the opening minutes 2-0, but a Leanne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) layup followed by a Leeara Creet (Brisbane, Australia) jumper gave the scarlet and gray the 4-2 lead at the 18 minute mark.

North Greenville (1-5) kept the Wolves in check, however, tying up the contest once more in the first half and keeping Newberry's first period margin to no greater than seven points. The Wolves were held scoreless for the final two minutes of the opening half until an Amanda Darnell (Marietta, S.C.) put-back with one tick left on the clock made it 35-28 Newberry.

The Wolves came out in the second half on fire, quickly jumping up by nine points on the Crusaders within the first minute. A Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia) free throw with just over 10 minutes left to play gave the Wolves their first double-digit lead of the game, 54-44, before Devanee Taylor then made it 15 points with a layup with 5:50 to go as the Wolves cruised to the victory.

“We're obviously very happy to get our first win at home where we were so dominant last year,” said Newberry head coach Sean Page. “Our defense was solid again in holding them to just 54 and offensively we saw a lot more production from a few other people. Leeara had another 10-plus point game and Jessica was able to get in double-digits as well.”

Defensively, the Wolves dominated the boards, walking away with 47 rebounds to the Crusaders 28. Newberry grabbed a season high 25 offensive rebounds and 22 defensively with McKinney and Watson each coming down with 11 total boards. In addition to the rebounds, Newberry also had 15 takeaways that the scarlet and gray then turned into 25 points, capitalizing on the 21 Crusader turnovers.

The Wolves also held the Crusaders' Karly Stache (Louisville, Tenn.) to just five points. Stache came into tonight's contest as North Greenville's leading scorer, averaging 15.2 points per game.

Newberry was led by McKinney's 24 points, 8-of-18 from the field, 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, with Creet adding 12 of her own followed by Bearzatto's 10. Bearzatto also dished out six assists and swiped six steals during the matchup.

“Helen had another nice game but I'm glad we were able to move the ball around so well,” added Page. “I think it shows we don't always have to live and die by the three and we can have others be a threat to score as well.”

The Wolves look to make it three in a row as they host Allen University this Thursday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m.