The Newberry College women’s basketball team competed in their final exhibition game of the preseason on Saturday afternoon as they faced off against NCAA Division-I opponent UNC Asheville in Asheville, N.C.

Newberry, unintimidated by the Division-I arena or opponent, led for the majority of the game and thwarted a UNC Asheville comeback attempt to hold on for a 66-53 victory.

The game actually counted as the Bulldogs’ official season opener despite the scrimmage status for Newberry.

“I’m extremely proud of our team for playing like they did in that environment and coming away with the win,” said John Lesaine, who acted as Newberry’s head coach for the game. “It’s a great achievement, but we aren’t going to let it define our season. Now we’re geared up to start the regular season.”

The Bulldogs scored five unanswered points to take an early 5-4 lead, but Newberry responded with a nine point run of their own to retake the lead. The 5-4 mark would ultimately prove to be the only time UNC Asheville would lead for the entire game. Newberry shot 37.9 percent from the field and forced 9 turnovers in the opening half and took a 27-17 halftime lead into the locker room.

The second half was more even, but Newberry could settle for exchanging possessions with the Bulldogs to maintain the lead. The Scarlet and Gray stretched the lead to as large as 16 with 13 minutes left to play in the game. UNC Asheville then battled back and closed the gap to six with just over five minutes to play, but Newberry’s defense prevented the Bulldogs from getting any closer.

Newberry took the momentum back when Jessica Bearzatto (Melbourne, Australia) nailed two free throws to get the lead back to eight and stole the ball away from the Bulldogs on the ensuing possession. Newberry then proceeded to start a nine-point run and pull away from UNC Asheville for good.

Helen McKinney (Owensboro, Ky.) led Newberry’s scorers with 19 points. Anita Bulcher (Russia, Ohio) recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds on the night. Bearzatto reached double digit figures for assists with 11 in her first start at Newberry College.

Newberry kicks off the regular season with the opener at North Greenville on Tuesday.