Newberry, S.C.----The number 23 Newberry College Wolves led for almost 38 minutes Wednesday, claiming a 72-63 South Atlantic Conference victory over the visiting Wingate University Bulldogs in Eleazer Arena. WU sophomore forward/guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) recorded the first double-double of her second-year campaign with 21 points (eight-of-15 shooting) and 12 total rebounds for the visitors.
Wingate is now 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the SAC. Newberry continues their early undefeated season, improving to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in conference action. Wolves junior guard Nicola Handreck (Heywood, Victoria, Australia) led all Newberry scorers with 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. Three out of five starters posted double-figures for the home team.
Bulldog senior guard and 2017 Allstate WBCA Good Works Team® nominee Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) finished second on the WU scoring charts, tying her season-high with 15 points along with three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Tricoli is a pre-season All-SAC selection.
Newberry sophomore guard Shelby Britten (Shepparton, Victoria, Australia) posted 18 points for the hosts with five assists and two rebounds. Her classmate Meg Essex (Glamorgan Vale, Queensland, Australia) compiled 16 points, eight rebounds, seven blocked shots and two assists from the center position.
Newberry led for the majority of the contest, despite Wingate grabbing the first lead at 1-0 on a free throw from Witherspoon with 9:07 in the first quarter. The Wolves then used a 7-0 mini-run to take a 7-1 advantage at the 7:07 mark. The hosts never let go of the first stanza lead with their largest advantage coming with 5:52 remaining when Newberry led by seven points at 10-3. The Wolves maintained a 17-11 advantage at the break between quarters.
Wolves head coach Sean Page's squad sprinted out to their first double-digit advantage of the contest on a lay-up from freshman guard Kelsey McDermott (Mackay, Queensland, Australia) to make it a 21-11 game with 8:40 to go in the second quarter. Wingate trimmed the deficit down to five points on a basket from Witherspoon to make it a 22-17 score at the 6:07 mark.
The home team answered with an 8-4 run to extend its advantage out to 11 points at 32-21 due to converted lay-up from Essex with 1:26 remaining. Newberry led by a nine-point margin of 34-25 at the halftime intermission.
To commence the second half of play, the Wolves jumped out to their largest lead at 14 points with 8:02 in the third quarter to make it a 42-28 ballgame. Wingate stormed back with a 9-0 rally to cut the margin down to one point at 44-43 with 4:10 remaining in the stanza. The Bulldogs failed to take their second lead of the contest as Newberry held on to a tight 49-47 advantage at the quarter break.
A two-point jumper from Witherspoon tied the score for the first time in the contest at 49-49 with 8:59 to go in the fourth quarter. WU head coach Ann Hancock's team eventually grabbed the 52-51 advantage to take their first lead of the second half with 8:37 on the clock. Newberry quickly erased the narrow deficit on a three-pointer from Handreck to take a 54-52 lead at the 8:18 plateau.
From this point forward, the Wolves held the advantage for the duration of the fourth stanza, leading 62-58 with 3:34 remaining. The 'Dogs would not get any closer than three points with Newberry's largest advantage the nine-point 72-63 final margin of victory.
Wingate outrebounded Newberry 43-31, while dominating 23-8 in the offensive rebound category. The Bulldogs were 67 percent shooting from three-point range compared to the Wolves' 58 percent from downtown. The 'Dogs also maintained the 7-6 advantage in total steals and 11-6 in second-chance points.
Newberry's reserves slightly outscored Wingate's bench 13-12 in the contest and had the 9-4 edge in total blocked shots. The hosts shot 51 percent from the field while the Wolves defense held the Bulldogs to 38 percent shooting from the floor. Newberry also finished with a 17-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Wingate University women's basketball team is back in action this Saturday when the Bulldogs venture west to the N.C. mountain region for a SAC showdown versus the Mars Hill University Lions. Tip-off is slated for a 2 p.m. start from Stanford Arena. Newberry is in action on the same day for a conference home match-up with the Carson-Newman University Eagles beginning at 2 p.m.
(Wingate University athletic media relations/sports network student assistant Jackson Kaplan contributed this article. A sophomore from Raleigh, Kaplan is a Communication Studies major at Wingate. He is the son of Harrison and Dona Kaplan.)
