HICKORY, N.C.  - The Newberry women's basketball team falls on the road 70-44 to Lenoir-Rhyne. 

Lenoir-Rhyne won the opening tip and did not take long to score. Just 15 seconds into the game the Bears got the ball to their leading scorer Madeline Hardy, who made the layup for the early 2-0 lead. Newberry got behind five points before scoring their first points of the game with a layup by junior guard Keli Romas. The Melbourne, Australia native went on to score the first six points of the game for the Wolves. With four minutes left in the quarter, Newberry found themselves just down one with the score being 7-6. Lenoir-Rhyne extended their lead with a three from Kennedy Weigt to make it 9-6. Junior forward Kelsey Brett made it a one point game again with a layup, but the Bears came back down the court and scored three points. Each side did not score the rest of the quarter so the score stood at 12-8 heading into the second. 

Hardy for the Bears increased their lead to six points to start the frame. The Wolves opened up their scoring with a three pointer from senior guard Kelsey McDermott for a score of 14-11. Lenior-Rhyne went on a mini 4-0 run before Newberry got their next bucket. Senior forward Brandi Hall got her first points of the game to make it 18-13 in favor of the Bears. Both sides then traded off buckets for a six point differential heading into the finals few minutes of the half. After Lenoir-Rhyne's Weigt drained a three to push it to a nine point lead, junior guard Talia Roberts got the hot hand. The Columbia, S.C. native scored the next seven points for the Wolves to bring it to 26-24, for a two point game. The Bears went on to score the final six points of the half to make it 30-24 heading into the break. 

The third quarter started with the Bears out scoring the Wolves 4-3 in the first two minutes to make it 34-27. Newberry then started to change the momentum of the game in their favor. Beginning with a three from Romas and two free throws from Roberts brought the Wolves back in within two. With 5:40 left in the quarter Newberry tied the game at 34-34, by a Roberts made layup, for the first time in the game. Lenoir-Rhyne re-took the lead with a layup from Ashley Woodroffe, but once again the Wolves tied it again with a jumper from McDermott. Newberry took a 37-36 lead for the first time in the game after a made free throw from Roberts with 4:44 left in the third. This was the only lead the Wolves had on the afternoon as the Bears ran away with the game the rest of the way. 

A jumper from Lenoir-Rhyne's Karlie Breaden made the score 38-37. The Bears then out scored the Wolves 13-3 in the final four minutes of the third quarter to make it 51-40 heading into the final frame. Nothing went Newberry's way in this last quarter as shots were not falling for the Wolves and almost every shot for the Bears was. Newberry did not score their first point of the quarter until there was 1:32 left on the clock. Romas scored the final four points for the Wolves by 4-for-4 at the charity stripe. Lenior-Rhyne in the mean time poured it on as they scored 19 points in the final frame leading up to the final score. 

Top Performers:
Newberry
Keli Romas - 15 points and three rebounds
Talia Roberts - 12 points and two rebounds
Brandi Hall - Two points and eight rebounds

Lenoir-Rhyne
Karlie Bearden - 16 points and seven rebounds
Madeline Hardy - 12 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists
Ashley Woodroffe -  16 points, four rebounds, and three assists

UP NEXT:
The Wolves come back home this Wednesday Jan. 15th to play Wingate. Tip-off is set for 5:30 PM.