AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Newberry College women's basketball team (5-7, 1-2 South Atlantic Conference) dropped their Saturday afternoon nonconference game to D2SIDA's ninth ranked team in the southeast region, the Augusta Jaguars, by a final score of 53-42.

The Wolves' top scorers were junior guard Payton Cronen (Louisville, Ky.) and sophomore guard Tyla Paraha (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) who each recorded nine points, four rebounds, and an assist in Saturday's action. Redshirt senior center Ericka Wiseley (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) recorded seven points, six rebounds, a block and a steal against the Jaguars.

The Jaguars got off to a 6-3 lead over the first four minutes of the game. The Wolves were able to keep the game close early in the first quarter by forcing three missed shots and a turnover from the Jaguars over that span. The struggles of the early game for the Wolves was the offense, as after Wiseley scored the Wolves' second and third points from a layup, they would go almost five minutes without another basket. The team was more sound defensively, allowing only five points over that same time span. When redshirt senior center Tyla Stolberg (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) scored the Wolves' next basket, Newberry was down just four points and cut the lead to two points with just under three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first quarter. Over the final three minutes of the first quarter, the Wolves held the Jaguars to 50% from the field for six points. Over that same span, Paraha recorded all five of the Wolves' points. The Wolves entered the second quarter down just three points, 15-12.

The Wolves brought the game even after Wiseley sank a free throw just under 20 seconds into the second quarter and sophomore center April Rummery-Lamb (Darwin, NT, Australia) made a layup just over a minute later. With eight minutes to play, Cronen sank her first three-pointer of the game to give the Wolves an 18-15 lead. The Jaguars finally scored their first points of the second quarter on a layup with just over seven-and-a-half minutes to play in the half. Prior to the layup, the Wolves held the Jaguars to just one shot in the quarter and forced two turnovers. Just under two minutes later, the Jaguars reclaimed their lead off of a layup, but missed another two shots in that period to take a one-point, 19-18, lead. Over the final five-and-a-half minutes, both teams experienced offensive troubles and scored a combined nine points. Newberry's four points over that span came equally from Stolberg's two free throws and senior guard Holly Davies' (Camberley, Surrey, England) jump shot with eight seconds left to play in the half. The Wolves missed eight field goal attempts following Augusta reclaiming the lead while forcing five missed field goals from the Jaguars. Still, the Wolves' defense held strong and the teams entered the locker rooms with a one-possession game to start the second half with Augusta leading 24-22.

The offensive struggles continued for both teams in the third quarter as neither team scored until the Jaguars scored a jump shot after exactly two minutes had elapsed in the second half. It would take almost another two minutes and twenty seconds until another basket was scored, a driving layup from sophomore guard Ella Pearson (Sudbury, Suffolk, England),to bring the game back within two points. During that time span, the Jaguars missed five shots while the Wolves missed three. While the Jaguars' offense appeared to be getting back on track, the same was not true for the Wolves. They did not score another basket after Pearson's layup until Paraha scored a layup of her own with 2:47 remaining in the third quarter. The Jaguars' lead sat at six points, 32-26, following Paraha's basket. Augusta scored six of the final eight points in the third quarter. Paraha made the team's only basket with under two minutes to play in the third quarter and the Wolves entered the final ten minutes down 10 points, 38-28.

The offensive struggles continued for both teams in the fourth quarter. Over the first three minutes, both teams missed three shots each and the Jaguars outscored the Wolves 5-3. With just under six minutes to play, senior guard Giulia Bongiorno (Rome, Italy) scored her first point of the game by hitting the back half of a pair of free throws, cutting the lead to 11. Around the five minute mark in the final quarter, the Wolves and Jaguars did something they hadn't done in a while, they traded baskets. However the Wolves' was a three pointer from Davies to further cut the lead back to 10 points. With four minutes remaining in the game, the teams went on an even 4-4 run that saw both teams a perfect two-for-two from the floor. Following the even run, the Jaguars scored four consecutive points to swell the lead to 14 points. With 44 seconds to play, Cronen hit the game's final shot, a three-point shot that shrank the lead to 11 points. Center Rummery-Lamb let a three-point attempt fly with 13 seconds remaining, but it did not go through the basket and the Wolves fell 53-42.

After a month and a half of competition, the Wolves take a break from action for the Holidays. They return to action on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, for a road contest against the Lander Bearcats. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 P.M.