NEWBERRY, S.C. – An 11-goal opening quarter propelled the Newberry College women's lacrosse team to a dominant 22-4 victory on Wednesday afternoon over the visiting Southern Wesleyan Warriors. The win marks the fourth consecutive for Newberry (5-2, 2-0 South Atlantic Conference).
It was a well-balanced attack for the Wolves as
Ella Todd (Maple Ridge, Canada),
Marissa Plumer (Kent Island, Md.),
Jenny Bates (Sherwood Park, Alberta) and
Cassell Richardson (Forest, Va.) all registered three-goal hat tricks in the game.
Adriana Hart (Franklin County, Va.) and
Emma Jobs (Sherwood Park, Alberta) had two goals each, while six other Wolves scored once:
Olivia Travassos (Ontario, Canada),
Serena Elias (Myrtle Beach, S.C.),
Lana Howell (Aurora, Colo.),
Sierra Hummell (Myrtle Beach, S.C.),
Hanna Bond (Falls Church, Va.) and
Madison Miller (Ponte Vedra, Fla.).
The Wolves got on the board quickly, scoring about 30 seconds into the contest as Hummell scored an unassisted goal. Less than a minute later, Elias scored off a feed from Todd, who then buried an unassisted goal of her own to give the Wolves a 3-0 lead at the 12:47 mark of the first.
The Wolves tacked on six more goals over the next six minutes, taking a 9-0 lead halfway through the first quarter. Southern Wesleyan (0-3, 0-1 Conference Carolinas) finally got on the board with two goals 25 seconds apart to stem the tide momentarily.
Bates' first goal of the day, followed by Plumer's second, gave Newberry an 11-2 advantage after one quarter.
Jobs opened the second quarter scoring, netting her first of the afternoon to push the Wolves' lead to 10, 12-2. Plumer, Howell and Bates added three more goals to bring the Newberry advantage to 15-2 with 7:17 left in the first half. The Warriors' Yael Echeverria then scored her team-leading second goal of the day to cut the lead down to 12 a few minutes later.
Richardson and Todd closed the first-half scoring for either side, each scoring their second goals of the afternoon over the final two minutes of the second quarter; Newberry took a 17-3 lead into the half.
The Wolves scored four straight goals to start the third quarter, increasing their edge to 21-3. A Warriors goal with about four minutes remaining in the third made it 21-4 heading into the final quarter of play. In the final quarter, only one goal was scored: A picturesque Plumer pass set up Bates' shot to make it a 22-4 final score.
For the game, Newberry outshot Southern Wesleyan 40-13 while also winning the turnover battle 14-5. In addition, the Wolves were able to corral 13 ground balls to the Warriors' four, and held a 20-9 advantage in draw controls.
Newberry hits the road for two upcoming games in Florida, the first coming against Florida Tech on Sunday in Melbourne. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. Then on Tuesday, March 14, the Wolves play against Flagler College in St. Augustine. That game is scheduled for 2 p.m.
