NEWBERRY - For the second straight Saturday it took the Newberry College women's basketball team extra time to take down an opponent, this one a 78-73 overtime victory over South Atlantic Conference foe Catawba College.
Newberry (10-6, 6-4 SAC) went down 66-63 with 18 seconds left to play in the contest after a pair of Catawba (11-7, 5-3 SAC) free throws. But Leanne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) kept the Wolves alive with a layup and a foul shot with eight seconds to go to tie up the game and send it into overtime.
In the overtime period it was the Wolves' defense stepping up big once again, holding Catawba scoreless for the final 1:42 while a pair of Leeara Creet (Brisbane, Australia) free throws put the Wolves up for good. Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) and Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia) each hit two shots from the charity stripe to put the game away.
“It was great to see our girls not giving up,” said Newberry head coach Sean Page. “We were down two possessions with just under two minutes to go in the game but we found a way and I'm proud of the girls for that.”
In the first half it was all Indians as the scarlet and gray dug themselves into a nine point hole early in the half. But a 14-2 run by Newberry capped off by a McKinney three pointer at the 7:02 mark gave the Wolves their first lead of the game. Newberry ended the half with a two point lead, 41-39.
The teams battled back in forth in the second half with neither squad grabbing more than a five point lead.
Bearzatto was the leading scorer for the Wolves during the contest with her season high 19 points, six of which came in the overtime period alone. The senior also had five rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocked shots. McKinney was right behind with her 16 points and 11 rebounds for yet another double-double. Watson had 14 points and five rebounds while Creet had eight points and 11 rebounds.
“It's always nice as a coach to see your leaders come out,” added Page. “We had three seniors in double-digit scoring and it's nice to see them taking the reins of a pivotal game especially when it's this tight down the stretch like this one.”
As a team the Wolves outrebounded the Indians, 56-49, 40 of which were on the defensive side of the ball, allowing just 13 second chance points to Catawba. Newberry was also stellar from the free-throw line, making 24 of its 27 attempts.
The Wolves will take their show on the road as they travel to Brevard (5-13, 1-7 SAC) to take on the last place Tornados this Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 6 p.m.
