NEWBERRY - The Newberry College women's basketball team held a lead over South Atlantic Conference opponent Mars Hill but couldn't close the deal as the Wolves fell to the Lions, 70-68.
Heading into the final 1:41 down two points, Newberry (6-5, 1-2 SAC) tied up the ball game once more after a pair of Brittany Brown (Fort Myers, Fla.) free throws made it 68-68. Mars Hill (9-2, 2-1 SAC) then took a two-point lead after a Jessica Jones (Chattanooga, Tenn.) layup proved to be the game winner for the Lions with 1:13 to go. After forcing a Mars Hill turnover with 28 ticks left on the clock, the Wolves missed three straight chances at their own end of the court, handing the Lions the win.
“It's a disappointing loss, especially since we played so well,” said Newberry head coach Sean Page. “Our defense was solid again, holding the best offense in the conference to just 70 points when they average over 78, but we just couldn't stop them down the stretch. We gave up huge offensive rebounds and that's something we need to improve on.”
In a back-and-forth game that saw eight ties and six lead changes, the scarlet and gray led most of the way in the second half and even climbed up to an eight point lead twice after falling behind 36-35 in the first period.
After a Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia) free throw put the game at 44 apiece at the 16:06 mark, neither team scored until the clock hit 12:08 when Briana Johnson (Irmo, S.C.) hit a jumper that put the Wolves up until a Jones layup with just over four minutes to play tied the game once again.
Newberry forward Leeara Creet (Brisbane, Australia) then put the Wolves back in the mix with a jumper that was followed by a pair of McKinney free throws for a four-point lead. But a Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) jumper, a McKinney turnover and a Young three pointer put the Lions in the driver's seat for good.
“Offensively we had some girls who stepped up which was nice to see,” said Page. “But it's hard to win when you miss easy shots down the stretch. You can't expect to play at this level and be competitive if you can't make those shots.”
The Wolves shot just under 40 percent as a team from the field, going 23-58, and put in an impressive 19-of-21 of their free throws. Newberry was uncharacteristically outrebounded by its opponent, however, with the Lions grabbing 42 boards to the Wolves 34.
McKinney once again led the way in scoring with her 21-point night. The senior was also 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. Johnson scored a season high 15 points while Creet had arguably her best night of the year, scoring 12 while grabbing eight rebounds and picking up four assists. Creet finished 6-of-11 from the field while Johnson was 6-of-10.
Mars Hill scored a season high 40 points on the scarlet and gray in the paint during the victory with Young, Jones and junior Taylor Deal (Catawba, N.C.) all scoring in double-digits.
Newberry has a short time to think about the loss before returning to action this Saturday, Jan. 8, as the Wolves take on SAC opponent Lincoln Memorial at 2 p.m. in Eleazer Arena.
