GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - For the first time in the 2010-11 season the Newberry College women's basketball team dropped a South Atlantic Conference road game, this one a 71-57 affair to the first place Tusculum Pioneers.
Newberry (11-7, 6-4 SAC) held a lead for the majority of the first half and by as many as five early in the second, but rebounding woes by the Wolves ultimately led to the Tusculum (12-6, 8-2 SAC) triumph.
Following the first half the squads were tied at 26 after Leeara Creet (Brisbane, Australia) sent home a jumper to put the game back on an even keel. Coming out of the half, Newberry senior Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia) nailed her first of two triples in the game to put the Wolves up three. Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) then picked the pocket of Pioneer Linda Aughburns (Fayetteville, N.C.) and sent in an easy layup to make it a five point Newberry advantage.
But after the promising first two minutes it was all Tusculum as the Pioneers went on a 9-0 run following the McKinney layup. The Wolves managed to cut the lead down to two points on three occasions but couldn't overcome the scoring prowess of Tusculum's Jasmine Gunn (Nashville, Tenn.) who finished the game with 36 points, 25 alone in the second half.
“It's a disappointing loss to say the least,” said Newberry head coach Sean Page. “But we couldn't expect to beat a high school team if we give up 23 offensive rebounds. It's a scary trend that we're starting to see with this team and it's ultimately hurting us in close games.”
Newberry was ultimately outrebounded 53-29 by Tusculum with the Wolves grabbing 10 offensive and 19 defensive boards while the Pioneers had 23 on the offensive side of the ball and 30 defensive. The Pioneers capitalized by putting in 20 second chance points on the Wolves' defense.
“We're starting to just get outhustled by our opponents,” said Page of his team that gave up 42 points in the paint to the Pioneers. “When it comes down to being physical and hustling we're flat out getting beat. It's something we need to start taking personally and something we need to change if we want to win this league.”
The scarlet and gray were led offensively by Bearzatto's 14 points and six assists. The point guard was 6-of-12 from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. Creet was just a step behind with her 12 points while freshman Devanee' Taylor (Norfolk, Va.) played the best all around game for Newberry with nine points and five rebounds.
“Devanee' played probably her best game of her career,” said Page. “She's starting to show the promise in games that she shows in practice every day and hopefully this can be a turning point for her. And of course, Jessica and Leeara came up big again for us in certain situations.”
Game three of a four-game road trip for the Wolves continues as Newberry travels to Mars Hill, N.C., to take on the Lions this Wed., Feb. 2, for a 6 p.m. matchup.
