NEWBERRY, S.C. – The Newberry College women's basketball team (6-11, 2-5 South Atlantic Conference) held off a late comeback attempt from the 18th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne Bears to claim their second conference win of the season, 63-62.

The Wolves' top scorer was sophomore center April Rummery-Lamb (Darwin, NT, Australia) who netted 15 points in the winning effort. She also recorded five rebounds and two blocks against the Bears. Redshirt senior center Ericka Wiseley (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) who put up 13 points, seven rebounds, and a block in the win. Senior guard Holly Davies (Camberley, Surrey, England) also netted double-digit points, 10, to go along with her four assists and two rebounds.

After falling behind by three points over the first two minutes, junior guard Faith Putz (Des Moines, Iowa) cut the lead back to one point with a made layup for her first basket of the game. The Wolves and Bears traded three missed baskets each before a Lenoir-Rhyne layup grew the Bears' lead back to three points. However, Wiseley went down the court and made a layup of her own just six seconds later bringing the Bears' lead back to one point. Following that layup, the Wolves went on a 6-2 run with Rummery-Lamb and sophomore guard Tyla Paraha (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) scored their first baskets of the game. Lenoir-Rhyne went just one for five from the field, including zero for two from beyond the arc, over that span. With just over four minutes to play in the first quarter, the Wolves held a one-point lead. Over the final stretch of the opening quarter, the Bears and Wolves sank one two-point basket, but Lenoir-Rhyne also added a free throw over that stretch, bringing the score at the end of the first ten minutes an even 12-12.

It took just over one minute for junior guard Payton Cronen (Louisville, Ky.) and Davies to each sink a three point shot while the Bears settled for a pair of free throws. Over the next minute and half, the Wolves and Bears traded made baskets and the lead remained at four points, 22-18. That kicked off a four-and-a-half minute run for the Wolves that saw them go five for eight from the field while the Bears went zero for nine, resulting in an 11-0 run for the Wolves that brought the lead to 13 points, 31-18 with just over a minute-and-a-half to play in the opening half. That run included four points for Rummery-Lamb and two each for Wiseley and junior guard Dyani Burke (Columbia, S.C.). Davies sank her second three-pointer of the contest during that stretch as well. The Bears added a pair of free throws and Paraha sank a layup to keep the lead at 13 points, 33-20, heading into the locker room for halftime.

The teams came out of the locker room shooting not quite as hot as they had in the first half. Through the first two minutes of the third quarter, both teams had made just one basket each, adding just two points to their scores. The next three minutes saw both teams return to form as Wiseley, Rummery-Lamb, and Cronen each netted a basket while the Bears added just four points to their total. With five minutes to play in the third quarter, the Wolves led the Bears by 15 points, 41-26. Thirty seconds later, senior guard Giulia Bongiorno (Rome, Italy) sank her first shot of the night giving the Wolves their biggest lead of the game, 17 points. Over the final four minutes of the quarter, the Bears showed why they are the 18th-ranked team in the country. They went on a 12-7 run sharing the scoring amongst five different scorers. The Wolves split their seven points between just two centers, Rummery-Lamb and redshirt senior Tyla Stolberg (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia). The run cut the lead to 12 points, but the Wolves still entered the final quarter up 50-38.

The Bears immediately got to work chipping away at the Wolves' lead, starting the quarter on a three-and-a-half minute, 8-2 run. With the lead cut to just six, Wiseley sank a free throw followed by Cronen sinking her second shot from beyond the arc to grow the lead back to double-digits with five-and-a-half minutes to play in the game. However, over the next two minutes the Bears held the Wolves without a shot while netting seven points of their own, getting the Wolves' lead down to just three points before Rummery-Lamb got Newberry back on the board. One field goal from Lenoir-Rhyne combined with four free throws to cut the lead to just one point with just over a minute to play as Rummery-Lamb sank another basket to keep the lead for the Wolves. Davies made two crucial free throws as the Bears went on to miss two three-point shots over the final minute. Paraha drained one of her free throws with 18 seconds remaining to bring the lead to four points, 63-59. With five seconds remaining in the game, the Bears drilled a three pointer and despite getting the rebound on the missed free throw, were unable to get a shot off, securing the 63-62 victory for the Wolves.

The Wolves are back on the road Saturday, Jan. 21 as they head to take on the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters at 2 P.M.