NEWBERRY, S.C. – Led by redshirt senior center Ericka Wiseley's 17-point performance, the Newberry Wolves women's basketball team (5-5, 1-1 South Atlantic Conference) held off a late comeback attempt from the Catawba Indians to claim the team's first conference victory of the season, 67-58.

Wiseley led the Wolves in scoring with 17 points. She also recorded nine rebounds, four assists and a steal in the win. Senior guard Holly Davies (Camberley, Surrey, England) recorded a double-double in Saturday's victory, putting up 11 points and 10 rebounds. She also recorded four assists and three steals in the winning effort.

Junior guard Payton Cronen (Louisville, Ky.) quickly got the Wolves off to an early lead with a three pointer 15 seconds into the game. Wiseley and Davies combined for five points over the next minute to quickly put the Wolves up eight points before Catawba scored their first basket. The Indians fought back and cut the lead to three points before Davies nailed her second three-point shot of the game to double the lead, putting the Wolves up 11-5 with 7:22 to play in the first quarter. Cronen and sophomore guard Tyla Paraha (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) both sank a three-point shot over the next three minutes while the Wolves held Catawba scoreless over that span, increasing the lead to 12 points halfway through the first quarter. Following Paraha's three pointer, the Wolves held the Indians without a basket for another minute, while forcing two missed baskets and a turnover from Catawba. But the Indians regained their composure and ended the quarter on a 7-4 run over the final three minutes, bringing the Wolves' lead to seven points, 21-14, entering the second quarter.

Junior guard Faith Putz (Des Moines, Iowa) started the Wolves off with three points to open the second-quarter scoring. After Catawba scored their first basket of the quarter on a jump shot, the Wolves forced two missed shots from the Indians before scoring again almost two minutes later. Catawba proceeded to go on a two-and-a-half minute 8-3 run that cut the Wolves lead to five points with 4:44 to play in the first half. The Indians sank another basket that put the lead at three points, 29-26, before junior forward Mercer Roberts (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) put the Wolves back on the board with a made free throw. Roberts' free throw kickstarted a 7-0 run for the Wolves that saw the Indians miss four shots over a two-minute stretch. Then, over the final minute-and-a-half of the first half, Catawba outscored Newberry 3-1. Two of those points came on free throws with just one second left in the half. Still, the Wolves maintained their lead 37-29 as they headed to the locker room.

Catawba sank two of the first three baskets over the first two minutes, cutting Newberry's lead to six points. Over the next four minutes and twenty seconds, the Wolves scored just two points while giving up nine bringing the Wolves' lead to just one point. Aided by one made free throw from Putz, sophomore center April Rummery-Lamb (Darwin, NT, Australia) scored seven of the game's next eight points to bring the lead back to nine points with just over 30 seconds to play in the third quarter. Two Catawba free throws cut the lead back to seven points, 49-42, as the teams entered the final 10 minutes of play.

The Indians started the fourth quarter on a 5-2 run, bringing the lead to just four points with 8:46 remaining in the game. But over the next minute and twenty seconds, Wiseley and Paraha combined for four points while the Wolves forced a missed shot and doubled the lead to eight points. Catawba guard Lyrik Thorne proceeded to score seven unanswered points before another Catawba player made a layup to give the Indians their first lead of the game,56-55. The lead grew to three points after a Catawba layup, but Wiseley cut it back to one point just 30 seconds later. After forcing the Indians to miss five shots over a two-minute stretch, the Paraha made a layup to put the Wolves back up by one point with two-and-a-half minutes to play. The Wolves ended the game on a one-minute, 8-0 run securing the 67-58 stunner over Catawba.

After being at home for the last four games, the Wolves head back on the road to Lenoir-Rhyne for their first SAC road game of the season on Wednesday, Dec. 14. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 P.M.