DAHLONEGA, Ga. - Despite leading the whole way the Newberry College women's basketball team gave up the lead at the 3:14 mark and failed to bounce back as the Wolves dropped their first road game of the year, 58-55, to North Georgia College and State University.
Newberry (5-3) led by as many as 13 points early in the first half but a 15-8 run for North Georgia (8-2) to end the period 31-23 swung the momentum the Saints' way.
North Georgia kickstarted the second half by making three straight jump shots to cut the Newberry lead to just two. The Wolves responded with Leanne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Briana Johnson (Irmo, S.C.) combining for 11 points in five minutes to up the Newberry lead to 11 with 12:20 to go.
A four minute cold spell from the field then proved costly for the scarlet and gray as North Georgia sliced away at the lead, bringing the Saints within five with just under five minutes to play. Five successful free throws followed by a Lindsey Moss (Alpharetta, Ga.) layup did the Wolves in at the 2:38 mark as Newberry was never able to regain the lead.
“Defensively we did an outstanding job again,” said Newberry head coach Sean Page. “But offensively we were 22-of-73 and that's just embarrassing. You're not going to beat anyone shooting like that.”
Newberry shot just 30.1 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three point range, while holding the Saints to 38.8 percent as well.
“It's nice to keep a team to just 58 points and that low of a shooting percentage but we have to get something going on offense,” added Page. “The inconsistency is killing us right now. There's no one right now who I can really count on to make a big shot down the stretch and that's something we need to fix as a group.”
Watson led the Wolves offensively, scoring 14 points and bringing down 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. Brittany Brown (Fort Myers, Fla.) was the only other Newberry player in double-digits with her 11.
Newberry will look to bounce back from their first loss in five games as they take on Georgia College and State University on Dec. 29 at 3 p.m. in game one of the Craig Massee Real Estate Invitational in Milledgeville, Ga.
