NEWBERRY, S.C. – Aided by sophomore center
April Rummery-Lamb's (Darwin, NT, Australia) double-double, the Newberry College women's basketball team (7-17, 3-9 South Atlantic Conference) defeated the UVA Wise Cavaliers 77-63 Saturday afternoon in Eleazer Arena.
Redshirt senior center
Ericka Wiseley (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) led the Wolves in scoring with 17 points. She was second, behind only Rummery-Lamb, in rebounding for the Wolves with eight rebounds. Wiseley also recorded a block and a steal in the win. Rummery-Lamb put up the second-most points for the Wolves with 15 and led the team in rebounds with 10. Two other Wolves, senior guard
Holly Davies (Camberley, Surrey, England) and junior guard
Payton Cronen (Louisville, Ky.), put up double-digit points, putting up 12 and 10 respectively.
The first quarter was a high-scoring affair. The Wolves shot nine of 16 from the field in the first quarter, good for 56.3% shooting percentage, including three of four from beyond the arc. Neither team was able to secure a large lead in the quarter, as the largest lead in the first 10 minutes was just four points, a feat both teams accomplished. With the teams squarely neck-and-neck, the Cavs took a two-point, 23-21 lead into the second quarter.
The Wolves got off to a slow start in the second quarter, scoring just one basket over the first three minutes of the quarter, while UVA Wise increased their lead to seven points. But the Wolves would not be denied as over the next two minutes, they went on a 6-0 run, with four of those points coming from Wiseley, to cut the lead to just one point with five minutes to go in the half. Over the final five minutes of the half, the Wolves and Cavs went point-for-point, ending on 9-9 even run. Wiseley again stood as the team's top scorer during the run, netting five of the nine points. Rummery-Lamb and Davies each scored two points as the Wolves went into the locker room down one point, 39-38.
The third quarter is when the Wolves pulled away from the Cavs. The Wolves were a perfect three-for-three from the field and one of two from the line when UVA Wise finally scored their first point of the half on a single free throw with just under three minutes elapsed in the quarter. Five of those points came from Davies as the Wolves took the lead over the Cavs. It was just over three-and-a-half minutes before the Wolves allowed any more points from the Cavs, another single free three that came after the Wolves had added four more points to their lead. With just under four minutes to play, the Wolves lead had swelled to eight points. It was almost another minute-and-a-half before UVA Wise scored again, their first field goal of the half with 2:16 remaining in the third quarter. The Cavs put up just one more point over the rest of the third quarter as the Wolves turned their one-point deficit into a 15-point lead in the span of 10 minutes and entered the final quarter of play up 59-44.
Much like the second quarter, the Wolves and Cavs traded baskets in the fourth quarter, with the Cavs out scoring the Wolves by one point in the final ten minutes. But with the sizable lead the Wolves accumulated in the third quarter, Newberry secured the 14-point, 77-63, victory over the Cavs.
The Wolves return to action Wednesday, Feb. 8 as they head to Gaffney, S.C. to take on the Limestone Saints. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 P.M.
