NEWBERRY – A career day from Kelsey McDermott, a phenomenal performance from Keli Romas, and a lockdown defensive effort from the entire Newberry roster helped the Wolves to a wire-to-wire 76-54 South Atlantic Conference win over visiting Lincoln Memorial.
 
Newberry (6-5, 3-3 SAC) took a lead it would never relinquish on a McDermott triple on its first possession, spending an astonishing 39:52 in the lead.
 
The Lady Railsplitters (4-6, 3-3 SAC) had no answer for the two-headed monster of McDermott and Romas. McDermott, a senior, matched her career high with 23 points on a remarkable 10-for-11 from the field, including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. She knocked down each of her last nine attempts of the game, with her only miss coming barely a minute into the first quarter.
 
Romas chipped in 18 points of her own, the fifth time this season the Lyon College transfer has reached double figures. Together, the pair combined for 41 points on 16-for-19 from the field, 5-for-6 from deep, 4-for-4 from the free throw line, six rebounds, five assists, and a steal.
 
The Wolves shot at a 52.9 percent clip, going 27-for-51 from the field overall. In an ironic twist, it represented Newberry's best shooting performance since going 27-for-51 at Lincoln Memorial in a 95-88 win on Jan. 5, 2019. The Wolves were also impressive from long distance, knocking down 10 triples for the second time this season and setting a new season high at 47.6 percent.
 
The Lady Railsplitters, however, shot 29.6 percent from the field, attempting 20 more shots than the Wolves, and were a paltry 1-for-16 on three-point attempts. Ericka Wiseley stuffed six shots, helping Newberry to 10 total rejections and matching all-conference center Meg Essex (2016, 2017) and 2017 Newberry Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Tiffany Johnson Chaplin (1999) for sixth-most in a single game in school history. She also totaled a game-high eight rebounds, helping Newberry to a 41-34 advantage on the boards.
 
Despite the lopsided statistics, the Lady Railsplitters were squarely in contention as late as the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The visitors had cut the lead to as few as seven points late in the third period and trailed by nine with 8:48 to play.
 
A Romas bucket in the paint, a steal by Romas, and a triple from McDermott set the tone for the remainder of the game, however, sparking a 17-3 run over the next 5:39 that saw the Wolves shoot 7-for-10 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range while allowing the Lady Railsplitters to cash in on just one of their 12 field goal attempts.
 
Lexi Kiser and Greenwood native Shermeria Quarles paced the Lady Railsplitters with 10 points apiece. Quarles also pulled down seven rebounds in her 23 minutes of action, one shy of Wiseley's game high. Romas led all players with four assists, with Talia Roberts and Dragana Petkovska tallying three apiece.
 
Newberry begins a two-game road swing on Wednesday with a 5:30 p.m. contest at Queens before traveling to Lenoir-Rhyne next Saturday afternoon.