BREVARD, N.C. - The Newberry Wolves got clutch performances down the line from the usual suspects as they held off South Atlantic Conference opponent Brevard, 59-53, to make it back-to-back wins and give head coach Sean Page his 50th win at Newberry.

With the game a one point affair with just over two minutes to go it was a pair of Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia) free throws that put Newberry (11-6, 6-3 SAC) up by three. Keisha Henderson (Columbia, S.C.) then stole the ensuing in-bounds pass and hit a layup to put the Wolves out of harm's way for good.

“They're a much better team than their record indicates,” said Page. “They're well coached and run a lot of sets and really let the shot clock run down. But we practiced well and it's nothing we weren't expecting. We sat back and got the long rebounds when we needed to and all-in-all we played well.”

The Wolves took a 27-26 advantage into the locker room after holding the Tornados scoreless for over six minutes early in the half. Newberry went down by five quickly, but held Brevard (5-14, 1-8 SAC) without a basket from the 18:53 mark until there was 12:39 to go in the period.

The scarlet and gray then hit a cold spell, scoring just eight points in six minutes, falling behind to the Tornados once again. But the Wolves finished the half strong with an Ellie Gleeson (New South Wales, Australia) three-pointer followed by a pair of Leanne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) free throws to end the half on top.

Coming out of the half it was Newberry who struck first and often with Leeara Creet (Brisbane, Australia) hitting three straight jumpers. Tornado Tempestt Mack (Albemarle, N.C.) then put in five straight for Brevard, making the game a tight one until the end.

“It was a great win,” added Page. “It came on the road and it closed out the first round of conference games for us and we're sitting good in second place and ready for the second half.”

Watson led the way for Newberry in the first half, scoring nine points with a 5-for-6 clip from the free-throw line. Watson and fellow forward Briana Johnson (Irmo, S.C.) tied for the team lead with 13 points each while Creet put in 10 of her own.

The Wolves held a 34-28 rebound margin over Brevard and outshot their opponent from the field, Newberry going 17-of-39 while the Tornados were 17-of-50.

Up next for the Wolves is league leading Tusculum. Newberry will travel to Greeneville, Tenn., to take on the Pioneers at 2 p.m. on Saturday.