TIGERVILLE, S.C. –Shelby Britten posted her first career double-double and the Newberry women's basketball team started the season with a win, upending Erskine 92-63 in the first match of the South Atlantic Conference/Conference Carolinas Challenge on Friday evening at Hayes Gymnasium.
Newberry (1-0) trailed Erskine (0-1) halfway through the first quarter, but took control and never looked back after pouring in eight three pointers in the first half with
Regan McCarty,
Kelsey McDermott and Georgia Elliot-King each making two or more treys.
Shelby Britten stymied the Flying Fleet defense after pouring in 14 points and dishing out 10 assists to give the senior her first career double-double.
Newberry led by 15 points at the half, but Erskine began to close the gap when the Flying Fleet went on a 20-9 run in the third quarter to close the gap to 10 points. But seven consecutive points from
Regan McCarty to start the fourth quarter ended any hopes of a Flying Fleet comeback.
McCarty chipped in a career-high 18 points after finishing the game with another career high with four made three pointers.
After totaling four points in the first half,
Meg Essex ended the game with a team-high 19 points while shooting a near perfect 7-of-8 in the second half and collecting seven rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
Brandi Hall had a career night off the bench for the Wolves, dropping career highs with eight points and eight rebounds in only 13 minutes.
Interim head coach
Joanna Tincher picked up her first win at the helm for the Wolves.
"We did a great job sharing the basketball while being aggressive offensively," Tincher said following the game.
"We have to do a much better job taking care of the ball, as well as capitalizing from the free throw line. It was a great effort from everyone for the first game and I'm looking forward to seeing where we go from here."
Key Stats of the Game
- The Wolves dominated the glass, holding a 53-30 advantage on the boards
- Newberry made 10 threes in the game, shooting at a clip of 45.5 percent
- Newberry held a 26-16 point advantage from bench scoring
- Six career records were broken by Britten, McCarty and Hall
- Britten's 10 assists were the most by a Newberry player since the 2010-11 season (11)
Newberry will look to give the conference another victory in the SAC/Conference Carolina Challenge as they take on hosts North Greenville tomorrow afternoon. Tipoff is set for 4PM at Hayes Gymnasium in Tigerville.
