NEWBERRY – Shelby Britten banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Newberry women's basketball won, 69-68, over Benedict on Tuesday evening at Eleazer Arena.
The Wolves (8-0) seemed to gain the upper-hand early into the game with Britten and
Brandi Hall tallying six points apiece in the first quarter.
Meg Essex hit a jumper to open the second quarter to push the lead to nine before Benedict (7-3) closed the gap and eventually took a one-point lead at the end of the first half.
Newberry and Benedict went back-and-forth trading buckets in a fourth quarter that saw seven lead changes alone. With almost one minute to go, Britten hit a 3-pointer to give the Wolves a five point advantage before three straight trips to the foul line for Benedict gave the Lady Tigers the lead with 33 seconds left.
A Wolves foul sent Benedict to the charity stripe for a two shots with only 11 seconds left. Benedict's Andresha Smith made her first attempt to put the Lady Tigers up two. Smith's second attempt rattled off the rim and gave Newberry possession with no timeouts. Britten carried the ball up the floor, passing off to
Courtney Lyons. Lyons took one dribble and handed it off to Britten, setting a hard screen on Britten's trailing defender. Without hesitation, Britten took a long 3-point shot and banked it in as the buzzer went off to give the Wolves a walk-off victory.
"Wow. What a finish," Newberry interim head coach
Joanna Tincher ecstatically stated after the game."I'm super proud of the girls for pulling through against a very talented Benedict team. We had great energy as a team and held our composure with our time management towards the end of the game. We trusted each other and saw all the work we do in practice every day pay off in the end."
"We couldn't have done it without the crowd though," Tincher said. "The support was huge down the stretch and I want to thank the town for coming out and showing their support."
Britten ended the game with 21 points, including 15 in the second half alone. Essex provided 17 points and nine boards while
Regan McCarty chipped in 11 points.
Kelsey McDermott recorded a season-high eight assists and snagged six rebounds.
Hall ended the game with a career-best 12 points in only 13 minutes off the bench for the Wolves.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- Newberry is the last NCAA Division I, II, or III team still undefeated in the state of South Carolina
- Benedict came into the game ranked No. 6 in the South region
- The Wolves are receiving 19 votes in the latest D2SIDA National Media Poll
UP NEXT:
The Wolves return to Eleazer Arena on Saturday, December 15 for a non-conference matchup against King with tip-off set for 2 p.m.
