NEWBERRY – The Newberry Wolves women’s basketball team won their third straight game on Wednesday night as they defeated the Coker Cobras, 69-63.

Samantha Creed (Montmorency, Vic, Australia) also posted her third straight game with at least 20 points as she finished with 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Senior forward Haylee Lepaio (Bathurst, NSW, Australia) had 23 points, three blocks and five rebounds on the night. Nicola Handreck (Heywood, Vic, Australia) also added 11 points and two assists.

The Wolves (12-5, 8-3) led the entire first half and opened the game on a 6-0 run after a layup by Creed and two buckets by Lepaio. The teams would go back-and-forth but Newberry held at least a five point advantage after for the last 12:55 of the half with the lead growing to as many as 9 points on a pair of Creed free throws to make it 21-12 with 8:41 left.

The Wolves would take a 32-24 lead into the locker room at halftime but Coker did not go away easily in the second frame.

With Newberry leading 41-29 with 14:30 left, the Cobras embarked on a 10-0 run powered by back-to-back 3-pointers and spanned just over three minutes to make it 41-39. From there on out, it would be a dogfight and the game would be tied three more times before it was all said and done.

Coker would take its first lead of the game at 46-45 on free throws by Pricscilla Fenty and eventually led 50-45 with 8:20 left. Newberry responded with a 10-2 run to not only tie the game, but take the lead with Lepaio having two layups and Creed knocking in a 3-pointer and two layups of her own. 

The Wolves would lead from there on out and the closest the Cobras would get is four points. Newberry got crucial free throws down the stretch from Zara Pearson (Echucha, Vic, Australia) to seal the victory.

In the game, Newberry exposed the Cobras on the low block and in passing lanes. They outscored Coker 26-6 in the paint and caused 25 turnovers. The Wolves also held an edge on the glass 40-27 and second chance points 12-6. The Cobras had a decisive advantage from the bench as they outscored Newberry’s 34-6 and made up for their starters lack of production. Preseason all-SAC selection Tanesha Stenson had 20 points and five boards for Coker.

The Wolves will be at home again Saturday at 2 p.m. as Carson-Newman comes to town in a pivotal South Atlantic Conference matchup. The two teams are tied for third place in the standings and it will be the first meeting between the two this season.