NEWBERRY — The Newberry women’s basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to Limestone 96-95 in triple overtime Saturday night.
With 11 seconds left in the third overtime period, Newberry (2-2) fouled Schekinah Bimpa to send her to the free throw line with the score 95-94, in favor of the Wolves. Bimpa converted both opportunities to put the Saints (3-0) up 96-95. Newberry then called a timeout to advance the ball to the 28-foot line. After the timeout, the Wolves’ set play caused confusion among the Limestone defenders and left Kelsey Brett open in the corner, but the ball bounced off the rim as time expired to preserve the victory for Limestone.
Newberry held the lead for much of the third overtime, which it extended to five points with 37.8 seconds to play when a technical foul was called on Limestone’s head coach. The Saints forced a turnover on the ensuing possession on a steal by Alexis Armstrong, who again stole a long pass following a Limestone bucket and assisted on a three-point basket that tied the game at 94 with 20 seconds left.
The game would have ended in the first overtime period if not for the Wolves’ heroics to force another extra stanza. Trailing 77-71 with less than 10 seconds left, Talia Roberts connected on a three-pointer through contact for a potential four-point play. She missed the free throw but collected her own rebound, then found Julie Kinard in the corner for a good look at another three. Kinard’s shot tickled the twine to tie the score with under four seconds remaining in an unbelievable sequence that forced a second overtime.
Newberry led by as many as 18 points in the contest and entered the fourth quarter with a 17-point cushion, but the Saints continually chipped away to pull within ten points with 3:40 left in the fourth. Limestone went on the press to try to force turnovers and get the game closer. The Wolves were held scoreless over the final 5:27 of regulation and outpaced 26-10 in the fourth period as the Saints forced overtime.
Both teams struggled from the field in the early going, with Limestone going 14 percent from the field in the first half and Newberry shooting at a 25 percent clip. Limestone had 55 attempts from the free throw line, converting 30 opportunities.
Keli Romas had 30 points and 11 rebounds in 51 minutes of action, leading a group of four Wolves in double figures. Kelsey Brett struggled from the floor, but finished one rebound shy of double figures, while Kelsey McDermott added 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Limestone’s Bimpa had a game-high 31 points and 11 rebounds.
This is the first triple overtime that Newberry had been a part of since computer records were kept in the mid-1990’s. This was also the first time Limestone has defeated Newberry in Eleazer Arena since 2001.
The Wolves are off until Friday when they travel to Emmanuel on Nov. 22. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.