HARROGATE, Tenn. - A trio of double-digit performances by members of the Newberry women's basketball team, were not enough as the Wolves fell by four at the Tex Turner Arena on Saturday as Lincoln Memorial topped Newberry 60-56.
Lincoln Memorial (12-10, 5-7 SAC) battled back from a 12-point deficit early in the second half as Newberry (16-6, 8-4 SAC) was unable to climb back into the game after the Lady Railsplitters took control.
The Lady Railsplitters led for the first 10 minutes of the game, before Newberry its first lead of the game at 9:36 in the opening period when sophomore Samantha Creed (Montmorency, Victoria, Australia) drained a 3-pointer to put Newberry up 15-14. The Wolves lead extended as the opening half concluded as senior Kendra Brown (Swansea, S.C.) hit a jumper with under a minute remaining to put Newberry up by nine at the halftime buzzer.
The Wolves jumped out of the locker room with the momentum they carried into halftime as sophomore Haylee Lepaio (Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia) opened the second half scoring with a layup to put the Wolves up 35-24.
Newberry's lead fell to six points until a six-point Newberry run pushed the Wolves ahead by 12 points with 15 minutes remaining in the second half. The next few minutes saw the Lady Railsplitters take advantage of trips to the free throw line as Lincoln Memorial climbed back into the game and eventually regained the lead with a 50-49 advantage on a MaRanda Boddie jumper with less than seven minutes remaining.
The Wolves quickly regained the lead, only to see it disappear as the Lady Railsplitters took control of the game as LMU not only took the lead, but escaped Tex Turner Arena with a four point victory.
Lepaio led the Wolves with 18 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Zara Pearson (Echuca, Victoria, Australia) added seven points and seven boards. Creed recorded 15 points, five rebounds and three steals, while Brown posted a 13 point performance.
Newberry continues on the road Wednesday as the Wolves travel to Wingate for a 6 p.m. meeting with the Wingate Bulldogs.
