NEWBERRY, S.C. - After Newberry honored senior guard Talia Roberts for scoring her 1,000th point last week, the Wolves crushed the Cobras of Coker University by a final score of 88-58 to end the regular season. Newberry moves to 9-9 overall and 8-9 in SAC play as they enter the conference tournament on Saturday.

Four Wolves scored in double figures, including Roberts, who posted 20 points on 6-10 (60.0%) shooting from the field, 4-6 (66.6%) from three and two steals in 18 minutes of play. Redshirt sophomore forward Mylaysia Gates scored 12 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had two blocks while freshman guard Payton Cronen scored 11 points, with nine of them coming from deep and grabbed six boards in 27 minutes of action. Redshirt sophomore center Ericka Wiseley also contributed with 12 points and four rebounds. 

Newberry led from start to finish, leading by as much as 35 with 7:54 left in the game. Defense, interior and bench play was the name of the game for Newberry, scoring 33 points off of 58 Coker turnovers as well as out-scoring the Cobras in the paint 34-18 and 15-0 in second chance points. Newberry's reserves out-scored Coker's reserves 52-25.

The first quarter was dominated by Cronen, Wiseley and Virgo. The trio combined for 17 of Newberry's 24 first quarter points. The 24th point came on a half-court heave at the buzzer by Roberts to give the Wolves a 24-9 lead.

The second quarter saw Gates and Roberts score 16 of Newberry's 20 second quarter points, with Roberts once again hitting the key shot late. Her second three-pointer of the game with 51 seconds left saw the Wolves take a 44-26 lead into the locker room.

The third quarter saw the Newberry defense shut down the Coker offense, as they scored only four points on 2-12 (6.7%) shooting. In the fourth quarter, Newberry cruised the rest of the way, getting the majority of their points from the free throw line. The Wolves hit 14-17 (82.4%) in the frame.    

Inside the Boxscore

• The 28 free throws made is the most Newberry has made all season.
• The 88 points Newberry scored is the third-highest point total of the season.

Up next
Newberry has earned the No. 7 seed and will take on the 10th seed Wingate University Bulldogs at Eleazer Arena this Saturday in the first round of the 2021 South Atlantic Conference Pilot Flying J Women's Basketball Championship. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.