CHARLOTTE, N.C.  - The Newberry women's basketball team did not give up the lead once in there 49-42 win against Queens. 

Newberry scored the first bucket of the game, a jumper by senior Kelsey McDermott, and did not look back the rest of the way. The next five minutes after that the Wolves out scored the Royals by a margin of 8-2 to to make the score 10-2. Junior guard Kristian Eanes of Queens, who finished with a game-high 17 points, scored their first basket in nearly four minutes to make it 10-4 with 2:51 left in the first. Queens closed the gap more with a layup for a score of 10-6, that is how the quarter ended as neither team scored again in the final two minutes. 

After being held scoreless for 6:11 minutes, Newberry got their first point with a free throw by junior Keli Romas for a 11-6 score. The Royals got a layup from junior center Julia Raflund to make it a three point game. This would be the closest the Royals got within the first half. Newberry answered back with freshman Courtney Virgo hitting a three to make it 14-8. That kick started a 6-0 run by the Wolves to extend their lead to 20-8 with 4:46 until half. Queens' junior guard Caitlyn Moore ended their scoring drought with a layup, after nearly three minutes. In the final four minutes of the first half, the Royals out scored the Wolves 5-3 for a 23-15 score at the break. 

Queens got the scoring to start the second half with a layup by Eanes to make it 23-17. McDermott got the first points for the Wolves in the third quarter by knocking down two free throws. Junior Ke'Shaun White extended Newberry's lead to double digits for a 27-17 score after a made layup. The Royals then went on a mini 4-0 run to get within six points of the lead. The quarter ended with each side trading a couple of buckets for a 33-25 score heading into the final quarter.

After a made free throw by Queens, red-shirt freshman Tyla Stolberg joined the scoring column with a layup. A jumper by sophomore Annika Suhonen of the Royals got them within seven before McDermott drains a three to make it a ten point game again and a score of 38-28. Queens got within four points after going on a 6-0 run to make it 38-34 with 5:44 left in regulation. A three by Romas pushed the Wolves lead back to seven. The Wolves hanged onto the lead down the stretch to preserve the win.  

Top Performers:
Newberry
Kelsey McDermott - 12 points and six rebounds
Keli Romas - 12 points and three rebounds
Ke'Shaun White - Five points and six rebounds

Queens
Kristian Eanes - 17 points and five rebounds
Annika Suhonen - Seven points and three rebounds
Julia Raflund -  Four points, eight rebounds, and four steals

UP NEXT:
The Wolves will travel to Hickory this Saturday Jan. 11th to take on Lenoir-Rhyne. Tip-off is set for 2:00 PM.