A week and a half ago, the Newberry girls' basketball team was floundering to say the very least.

The Bulldogs were supposed to be contenders for the Region III-2A championship, but dropped to 3-10 overall after a 43-35 loss to Emerald at home on Jan. 11.

Newberry opened region play with back-to-back losses, and was on the verge of seeing its season completely implode.

The coaches left, and the girls talked right after the Emerald loss.

“(Asst. coach) Melissa (Mendenhall) and (Asst. coach) Jon (Dunbar) could hear the girls talking,” Newberry coach Ronney Hunter said. “They made the decision that they were going to play with more intensity.”

They did.

The Bulldogs bounced back in a huge way with back-to-back wins, including a huge 53-23 romp of Batesburg-Leesville. They followed that victory with a win at Ninety Six-one in which leading scorer Brittany Marshall fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

Hunter believes a lot of his team's recent success can be attributed to a new attitude it brought to practice.

“Since (the Emerald loss), we've had better practices,” Hunter said. “The practices have been more intense. We've been getting after it more, and they've had more fun. They've really been working hard and doing it together.”

The Bulldogs' new attitude culminated in last night's 20-point rout of Mid-Carolina in a game that gave Newberry third-place in a hotly contested region race.

Only the top-four teams in the region will advance to the 2-A playoffs.

Newberry will get a huge test Friday when it plays host to region leader Saluda. The Tigers are undefeated in league play, including a 53-39 victory against the Bulldogs in the region opener for both on Jan. 8.

A region championship is still within reach for Newberry.

“The girls have really been working hard,” Hunter said. “They were so relaxed tonight before the (Mid-Carolina) game, it was scary. If they can continue to do that, we'll be successful. They've decided to step up their game. It's nothing that I've done.”