MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. - Despite totaling 18 points on the evening, it was a pair of free throws from junior Samantha Creed, which proved most important for the Newberry women's basketball team as the Wolves edged the Mount Olive Trojans 74-72 inside of Kornegay Arena on Saturday.

Newberry (2-0) looked to control the game early as the Wolves jumped out to a 4-0 advantage early over the Trojans (1-2). With 17:19 remaining in the first half, a layup by junior Haylee Lepaio (Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia) gave the Wolves a 6-2 advantage over the home side.

Mount Olive countered with a 3-point make by Joneiqua Gary and nearly two minutes later a pair of made free throws to take its first lead of the game. The Trojans continued to make the Wolves pay for fouls as free throws extended the lead to three points with 14:39 remaining in the first period.

The Trojans added to the momentum gained by gaining its first lead of the game by growing the lead to as many as 11 points outside of the ten-minute mark in the half. Newberry battled back to cut the lead back to single digits, until the Trojans pushed the lead out to 11 on two more occasions. Mount Olive's final double-digit lead of the first half came with 5:47 remaining as Katie Paschal converted a pair of tries from the free throw line.

After trading points with one another the Wolves and Trojans saw Creed (Montmorency, Victoria, Australia) run the fast break for a layup to cut the Trojans lead to 35-28 with 2:28 on the clock. Senior Tasia Holdorf (Anchorage, Alaska) continued the Wolves' run with a pair of free throw makes, which was followed up by two free throws from senior Ellie Gleeson (Albury, New South Wales, Australia). The six-point Newberry swing left the Wolves trailing by only three points with just over a minute left on the clock.

A 3-pointer from the Trojans followed by a jumper in the paint for Holdorf wrapped up the scoring in the first half and saw the Trojans head to the locker room with a 38-34 lead.

The second period opened exactly as the first half began as Lepaio scored off an assist from junior Kaitlynn Pacholke (Tampa, Fla.). The second half continued as the Wolves scored seven-straight points to take a three-point lead with 17:58 remaining.

Mount Olive got back into the swing of things as they pushed their lead out to ten points over the next four minutes, ending with a 55-45 lead with 13:04 remaining in regulation.

A fast break layup from Holdorf, followed by a layup from Creed pulled the Wolves back within six with 11:25 left in the period.

Newberry continued to inch its way back into the game, despite Mount Olive continuing to find points against the Newberry defense. It was Mount Olive however that found the advantage with 5:36 on the clock and another double-digit lead as the Trojans saw their lead reach 67-57.

After seeing the deficit grow to 10 points the Wolves answered with a 3-point make from junior Zara Pearson (Echuca, Victoria, Australia). A Mount Olive free throw was soon followed up by back-to-back layup by Holdorf and a third straight Newberry layup by Lepaio to pull Newberry within two of the Trojans.

With 2:33 left in the game, Jasmin McDonald missed a jumper on the Mount Olive end of the court that was pulled down by Creed. A foul by McDonald sent Creed to the line, where the Australian was able to tie the game at 68-68.

A basket on each end of the court saw the game tied at 70-70 with 1:36 left, before Newberry took advantage of free throw attempts. With 25 seconds on the clock, Creed hit a pair of free throws to give the Wolves a two-point lead, which was added to under the 10 second mark by a made free throw from Holdorf.

With nine seconds left and a three-point cushion, the Wolves sent Paschal to the line for a one-and-one opportunity with the hopes of regaining possession in the final seconds.

Paschal hit both free throws to pull the Trojans within one of the Wolves, but a made free throw with four seconds left by Pearson would prove the final dagger for the Wolves as they escaped Mount Olive with a 74-72 victory.

Lepaio led all scorers with 27 points, while Creed added 18 and Holdorf scored 17. Lepaio's 27 points ties her career high in scoring. Holdorf tied a career high as she led Newberry with nine rebounds. Holdorf was followed in the box score by Creed's seven boards and Lepaio's six.

Five assists capped Creed's strong all-around game and two steals, while Pacholke finished with a career high four assists.

Newberry returns home on Wednesday for its home and conference opener against the Coker Cobras, scheduled for tipoff at 6 p.m.