NEWBERRY - Newberry will play in its fifth NCAA Division II tournament game and will be looking for the program's first tournament win on Friday afternoon against No. 3 seed Anderson.
WHO: No. 6 Newberry vs. No. 3 Anderson
WHERE: Timken Center
WHEN: 12 p.m. on Sunday, March 8
RECORDS: Newberry is 21-10 overall and was 14-8 in South Atlantic Conference action. Anderson is 25-4 overall and was 20-2 in SAC play.
LIVE AUDIO: http://www.NewberryWolves.tv, WKDK-AM 1240 in Newberry County
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/limestone-college
LIVE STATS: http://www.sidearmstats.com/limestone/wbball/
The Wolves secured an automatic bid to the Division II NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament by beating Anderson 64-58 on Sunday in the South Atlantic Conference Championship.
It was Newberry’s first conference championship since the 2006-07 season and the first with Sean Page at the helm. The Wolves are appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time and second under Page. Newberry is 0-4 all-time in the tournament. The last appearance came in 2010 as the Wolves lost to Francis Marion 103-96 in Greenwood, S.C.
Newberry currently is 21-10 overall and is in the midst of a three game winning streak. All of those wins came during the SAC Tournament. Newberry is coming off a regular season in which they went 18-10 overall and finished South Atlantic Conference play at 14-8 and finished in third place.
Anderson is 25-4 overall and are the regular season conference champions. The Trojans posted an 20-2 mark in the conference. They were slated to finished sixth in the preseason but have surprised behind a group lead by SAC Player of the Year Sierra Simpson.
It is the fourth meeting of the year between the two teams. This is the first time Newberry has met an opponent four times since moving to Division II in 1996-97 and in the SAC.
The Wolves are 1-2 on the year against Anderson, the Trojans sweeping the regular-season series but Newberry taking the championship game.
Offensively, the Wolves shoot a high field goal percentage (42.5) which was second in the conference. They also turn the ball over the fewest amount of times at just 15.0 a game. They share they ball and rank second in assists at 14.6
Defensively, they allow the second lowest points per game (59.5) and field goal percentage (38.4). They do that all while fouling the fewest times per game at 16.2. Newberry gets to the line the third fewest (17.9) and makes the third fewest free throws (13.0). They also sit in the same spot for total rebounds (35.9).
Anderson was one of the best rebounding teams in the conference as they have the second-highest rebounding margin at +6.0. They rank third in total rebounds (42.8) and second in offensive rebounds (16.6). Anderson posted 21 offensive rebounds against Newberry on Sunday.
Offensively they rarely turn the ball over at just 15.0 per game, just behind Newberry. Opponents shoot the worst field goal percentage (37.9) against their defense. Anderson shoots (62.5) and makes the second most field goals (25.3) a game. The Trojans shoot (6.1) and make the third most 3-pointers (19.1) in the SAC while scoring the third most points (70.4).
