Newberry, S.C. – The Newberry women's basketball team concluded the Southeast Regional Challenge on Saturday, falling 71-52 to Georgia Southwestern State despite Payton Cronen's game-high 26 points.
 
Playing on back-to-back days to start the season, the Wolves got off to a slow start offensively as they scored only seven points in the first quarter. While they got some good looks in the period, the shots would not fall as they went 3-11 from the field. The Hurricanes were able to drive the ball effectively, with their eight points in the paint proving the difference as they finished the quarter up 15-7.
 
GSW opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run as they continued to push the ball in transition. The run was ended when Giulia Bongiorno hit a jumper with 6:36 on the clock, and the Wolves began to push back. In a chaotic sequence midway through the period, Newberry pulled down six offensive rebounds on one possession as they could not get a shot to fall until freshman Ella Pearson managed a putback to cut the deficit to 11.
 
The Hurricanes finished the second quarter on a 10-4 run to head into the break with a 17-point lead. The Wolves shot 7-27 from the field and just 1-11 from range in the half. But the third quarter would prove to be a different story.
 
Putting their shooting woes behind them, the Wolves hit 50% from the field while going 5-7 on three-pointers, with Mylaysia Gates hitting two from range and Cronen draining three. The team more than doubled their scoring output from the first two quarters by putting up 19 in the third, going blow-for-blow with GSW, but unable to cut into the deficit.
 
Cronen continued her hot streak into the fourth quarter, scoring nine more points to finish with a game-high 26, also pulling down six rebounds. The Wolves brought in 16 offensive boards on the night to GSW's 14, but they got outscored 34-14 on points in the paint. Despite their improved efficiency in the second half, they finished the night with 33.3% shooting from the field and 32% from three-point range.
 
Mylasia Gates finished second in scoring for the Wolves with eight points on three field goal attempts, while Giulia Bongiorno went 3-6 to score seven. Ericka Wiseley led all players with eight rebounds on the night, Courtney Virgo dished out a game-high four assists, and April Rummery-Lamb recorded three blocks in just 11 minutes of action.
 
Next up for the Wolves is the start of SAC play as they travel to Mars Hill University on Wednesday, November 17 for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.