GREENVILLE- The Newberry College women's basketball team (No. 2 seed) looks to defeat the No. 3 seed Bulldogs of Wingate University in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Semifinals on Saturday afternoon. The game will take place at Timmons Arena at Furman University in Greenville at 2:30 p.m.
WHO: Newberry College vs Wingate University
WHERE: Timmons Arena, Greenville, S.C.
WHEN: 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 5
ONLINE COVERAGE
Live Stats: http://sidearmstats.com/lmu/wbball/
Live Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwSoIaoPSak
Live Audio: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/newberry/
ALL-SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE HONORS
Meg Essex has been named the South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year and Samantha Creed has been named first team all-South Atlantic Conference, announced Thursday. Essex was also named second team all-SAC and SAC All-Freshman.
Essex was also named the conference’s statistical champion in blocked shots per game, while the team earned the statistical championship for scoring defense, allowing 61.3 points per game.
Essex currently ranks No. 15 in the nation and No. 1 in the South Atlantic Conference with 2.6 blocked shots per game. During the 2015-16 campaign, Essex has turned away a conference-best 76 shots to rank 13th in Division II. For the season, Creed averages 13.1 points per game while grabbing 3.3 boards. Creed also dishes 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
LAST TIME OUT FOR NEWBERRY
The team defeated Carson-Newman 85-74 in the SAC Quarterfinals. At the half, Nicola Handreck led the team with 12 points followed by Shelby Britten and Samara Hill who scored nine each. Meg Essex led the team in blocks with three while Samantha Creed led the team in steals with two.
Handreck finished the game with 23 points, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Hill finished with 14 points followed by Britten and Jaya Schultz who both scored 12 points each. Essex led the team in rebounds and blocks with seven each while Schultz led the team in steals with three. For the game, the Wolves shot 75.7% from the line and 50% from the arch.
LAST MEETING WITH WINGATE
Earlier in the season, the team defeated the Bulldogs 62-61. At the half, Newberry was led by Samantha Creed with five points followed by Nicola Handreck with three. Meg Essex led the team in rebounds and blocks with five and two, respectively. At the half, Newberry was shooting 83.3% from the line and 36.4% from the field.
For the game, Handreck finished with 18 points, six boards, five assists, and one block. Creed finished the game with 16 points, three assists, two steals and three blocks. Essex finished the game with four blocks, eight points and six boards. As a team, the Wolves shot 87.5% from the line and 46.2% from the field.
SCOUTING WINGATE
The Bulldog’s senior forward Morgan McGee is a second team All-South Atlantic Conference selections, the league announced Wednesday.
Bulldog freshman guard/forward Danasia Witherspoon receives honorable mention All-SAC laurels, while Witherspoon and classmate Courtney Robinson are SAC All-Freshman team. McGee is second on Wingate’s charts with her 10.3 points per game average. She leads the Bulldogs with her 5.2 rebounds per game. McGee joined Wingate’s 1000-point club earlier this season in a home victory over Carson-Newman. Witherspoon leads Wingate with her 54.0 percent field goal accuracy (109-of-202). She is third on the Bulldog team with her 10.0 points per game. In addition, she is second (to McGee) with her 5.1 rebounds per game. Robinson averages 8.6 points per game, 4.1 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per game. She is one of four Bulldogs (the others are McGee, Witherspoon and junior guard Alex Tomlinson) to start every game this season.
UP NEXT
The winner of the game advances to the South Atlantic Conference Championship in Greenville on Sunday, March 6.
