NEWBERRY - The Newberry College women's basketball team put up one of its best defensive performances of the year as they held off Brevard, 58-41, for the Wolves' fourth straight South Atlantic Conference victory.
The senior night triumph also assured Newberry (16-9, 11-6 SAC) a home game in the first round of the upcoming Food Lion SAC Tournament.
Brevard (6-21, 2-15 SAC) never led during the game and was held to just 12 made baskets in the contest out of the Tornados' 42 attempts by the stout Newberry defense.
The scarlet and gray scurried out to a quick 14-2 lead over Brevard within the first eight minutes of the game after a pair of Keisha Henderson (Columbia, S.C.) free throws. Holli Flippo (Kingston Springs,Tenn.) responded by sinking a three-pointer for the Tornados to make it 14-5 in favor of the Wolves. Junior Leeara Creet (Brisbane, Australia) then sent home a jumper at the 11:47 mark of the first half to put it at 16-5. The Wolves then led by a double-digit point margin for the remainder of the game.
“It was just a great game to have on senior night,” said Newberry head coach Sean Page. “I'm extremely pleased with our defensive effort, holding a team to 20 points in the first half and 21 in the second, and I'm just really excited we got to send our seniors out this way. It's just outstanding."
Newberry went into the half with a 33-20 advantage and picked up right where it left off. Henderson hit a jumper followed by two Leanne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) free throws and a Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia) layup to put the game on ice early in the second half.
Senior Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) led the Wolves with 14 points followed by Bearzatto's 10. Watson put in nine of her own to go along with her eight rebounds while fellow senior Briana Johnson (Irmo, S.C.) finished with seven rebounds and two points.
“We had great contribution all around the board,” said Page. “We had 10 people score tonight and as a coach you always like to see that effort. But more than anything this win is going to set us up well for the conference tournament.”
As a team, the Wolves outrebounded the Tornados 58-41 and picked up 24 points in the paint to Brevard's eight. Newberry also forced 23 turnovers, turning them into 23 points.
The Wolves will look to make it five in a row as they travel to Catawba this Saturday, Feb. 26, for their regular season finale. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. in Salisbury, N.C.
