NEWBERRY — The Newberry women’s basketball team extended their best start to a season this century to seven games after defeating Mars Hill, 57-33, on Saturday afternoon at Eleazer Arena.
The Wolves (7-0, 3-0 SAC) dominated on the defensive side of the ball for the second straight game, holding Mars Hill (1-4, 0-1 SAC) to a mere 20.3 percent shooting from the floor and forcing 20 turnovers.
Meg Essex once again controlled the paint as the 6-3 center recorded 19 points and 14 rebounds. Essex also blocked four shots, passing former Newberry center Tiffany Johnson (1996-00) as the all-time school leader in blocked shots with 229 total.
Newberry held the Lions to only eight points in both the first and second quarters, capping the strong defensive performance with a 20-0 run that extended from the end of the second quarter and into the third. Essex was unstoppable during the run, putting up 14 points on a near perfect 7-of-8 shooting from the floor during the run.
The Wolves remained relentless on both ends of the floor the rest of the game as McCarty scored 10 of her 15 points in the second half to lead the Wolves to their third SAC victory.
Shelby Britten, fresh off surpassing 1,000 career points, got others more involved dishing out a game-high eight assists on the day. Redshirt freshman Dragana Petkovska made her first career appearance for the Wolves recording four points, four boards, one assist and one block in 17 minutes.
Saylor Whitesides made her first career bucket on a 3-pointer with a little over 90 seconds to go in the game.
Newberry will enjoy a much-deserved week off before hitting the road to take on Tusculum next Sunday, December 9. Tip-off from Greeneville, Tenn. will be at 2 p.m.
Postgame Notes:
• Newberry’s bench outscored Mars Hill’s 18-2.
• 32 of the Wolves 57 points came from inside the paint.
• Five different Wolves scored from behind the arc.
•Newberry’s seven-game win streak to start the season is the most straight wins this century.
• Newberry defense held Mars Hill to 33 points, the lowest mark for an opponent since the Wolves held Queens to 32 points last February.