GREENVILLE- Despite a close game all the way through, the Newberry College women’s basketball team fell to the Bulldogs of Wingate University 61-54, in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Semifinals at Timmons Arena on Saturday afternoon.  The Wolves fall to 17-13 overall and awaits news on an outside shot at the NCAA Tournament.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- For the game, Samantha Creed and Nicola Handreck both scored 15 points each. Handreck tallied two steals, six rebounds and five assists while Creed tallied one block, two assists and three rebounds.
- Colleen Leung finished with seven points, two steals, five boards, and one block while Meg Essex finished with two rebounds, one assist, three blocks, and four points.
- As a team, the Wolves shot 81.3% from the line and 33.9% from the field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter
The Wolves got on the board with a jumper from Essex with 8:33 left in the quarter. Newberry then took a 4-3 lead at 7:27 with a layup from Creed off a pass from Handreck.  

Creed drained a 3-pointer with 6:49 left for a 7-4 lead before Jaya Schultz hit a jumper with 5:18 left. Samara Hill got on the board with 4:46 left when she hit a jumper for a 11-4 lead. Creed ended the quarter for Newberry draining a 3-pointer off a pass from Shelby Britten to give the Wolves a 16-11 lead.

Second Quarter
Handreck got the ball rolling for Newberry in the second quarter with a layup just 55 seconds in. The Wolves didn’t score again until the 1:22 mark when Schultz hit a free throw. Newberry went into the third quarter with a 21-18 lead after Britten made a layup off a pass from Hill with 57 seconds left.

Third Quarter
Wingate got on the board first with a layup from Witherspoon but Newberry responded quickly with a jumper in the paint from Leung. Handreck got on the board with a layup with 7:58 left to make the score 25-22 in Newberry’s favor.

At the 5:50 mark Creed went 3-for-3 at the line after being fouled by McGee. Creed got back on the board with a layup at the 4:20 mark before she made a jumper with 1:44 left. Leung made the last basket for Newberry off a 3-pointer with two seconds left until the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Going into the final quarter, the Wolves were down 42-40. Handreck scored the first basket for Newberry with two free throws at the 8:51 mark. Handreck made a layup with 7:28 left followed by a free throw for Newberry to take back the lead (45-44).

At 6:19 Leung went 2-for-2 at the line for the Wolves extending their lead to 49-44. With 3:35 left in the game Hannah Lepaio made a jumper in the paint off a pass from Creed for a 53-52 lead. Lepaio then went 1-for-2 at the line with 2:34 left to tie the game at 54-54. From then on, the Wolves didn’t score anymore giving Lincoln Memorial the win.