NEWBERRY - The Newberry College women's basketball team will look to bounce back after a loss at Anderson on Saturday afternoon.
WHO: Newberry College at Wingate
WHERE: Charles Cannon Complex
WHEN: 6 p.m. on Wednesday, February 4
RECORDS: Newberry is 13-7 overall and 9-5 in South Atlantic Conference action. Wingate is 15-6 overall and 13-1 in SAC play.
LIVE AUDIO: http://www.NewberryWolves.tv, WKDK-AM 1240 in Newberry County
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.wingatebulldogs.com
LIVE STATS: http://www.wingatebulldogs.com
Newberry lost a tough game on the road to second place Anderson on Saturday, 81-72. The loss put Newberry’s record at 13-7 overall and 9-5 in the South Atlantic Conference where they are tied for third with the Eagles of Carson-Newman. Even with the defeat, Newberry remained at No. 10 in the D2SIDA Southeast Regional Poll. Anderson is ranked No. 4 while Wingate is No. 3.
Against Anderson, Haylee Lepaio (Bathurst, NSW, Australia) had her seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the loss and is now just 111 points away from setting the all-time scoring record at Newberry College. Samantha Creed (Montmorency, Vic, Australia) had a team-high 19 points in the loss, making it 19 times this season she’s scored in double figures out of the Wolves’ 20 contests.
Newberry didn’t shoot the ball well Saturday only coming in at 38.7 percent and are now just 1-5 when failing to shoot 40 percent or better. A lot of things happened for the second time during the game. The Trojans shot a blistering 50.9 percent and it was only the second time the Wolves have allowed 50 percent or better shooting this season. The 81 points Newberry gave up were also the second most, the first being in the 86-76 loss at Lincoln Memorial. It was the second loss when Newberry shot more free throws, second loss when scoring 70 or more points and only the second loss when outrebounding their opponents (8-2, 5-2).
Wingate comes into the game leading the SAC standings with a 15-6 overall record and a 13-1 mark in conference. Their only loss came to Catawba in the third game of the season. The Bulldogs have won 11 straight games and have an average margin of victory of 15.4 points a game during that stretch that dates back to Dec. 18.
Wingate leads the conference in 3-point percentage at 35.4 percent and are third in FT attempted and made per game. Shelby Tricoli is the third best 3-point shooter in the conference and knocks down 46 percent of the shots she takes from deep. Defensively they allow the second fewest points (60.8) while Newberry is first at 58.9.
Newberry limits opponents to the lowest field goal percentage at 37.2 and Wingate is fourth at 38.7 percent. This will be a key to the game as Newberry currently leads the conference in field goal percentage (43.3) but have struggled shooting the ball against some of the better SAC opponents. Wingate is fifth in all rebounding categories, all slightly better than the Wolves but their weakness lies in being ninth in turnovers per game (17.6). Newberry turns the ball over the fewest amount of times in the conference at 15.7 but do not force very many and only average 6.3 steals a contest, good for tenth in the SAC.
The game is set for a 6 p.m. start.
