NEWBERRY – The Wolves women’s basketball team overcame a late seven point deficit with four minutes remaining to take a 64-60 victory and sweep the Catawba Indians in the regular season.

The Wolves (9-4, 5-2) trailed for over 37 minutes until junior guard Samantha Creed (Montmorency, Vic, Australia) scored 12 of the Wolves last 13 points in the game with her jumper giving Newberry the lead for good with 1:57 remaining in the contest. She finished with a game-high 25 points and six assists.

Senior forward Haylee Lepaio (Bathurst, NSW, Australia) had a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Zara Pearson also scored 11 points and had three assists on 4-6 shooting and going 3-4 from behind the arc.

The Indians (6-6, 3-4), who Newberry knocked off on the road back on Nov. 15, got out to a quick start on a 6-0 run and slowly built a lead. Their defense forced Newberry to turn the ball over 12 times in the half which they capitalized on and took a 12-2 advantage in points off turnovers.

Catawba took a 33-24 lead into the break despite having numerous opportunities to close the gap. The Wolves held an opponent without a 3-point field goal in three of the last five halves they’ve played. Catawba went 0-8 from the field in the half and 3-16 from downtown in the game.

The Indians got out to their largest lead at 13 with 18:25 remaining in the game before the Wolves began to chip away. Down 46-34, Newberry went on a 5-0 run spanning less than two minutes thanks to a Zara Pearson (Echuca, Vic, Australia) 3-pointer and a Lepaio layup to make it 46-39.

After the two teams traded some baskets, Newberry had an 8-0 run trigged by a Lepaio jumper before Creed took over. She and Jada Huntley traded baskets before she hit a jumper and then made four crucial free throws to make the lead 63-60 with just nine seconds remaining.

Coach Sean Page then decided to foul with Catawba only getting a chance at a bonus opportunity which they missed and was cleaned up on the glass by Lepaio. She was fouled and made the three throw to make it a two possession game and seal the victory.

The Wolves will now hit the road to take on Mars Hill on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Mars Hill.