The South Atlantic Conference Preseason Poll shows the Newberry College women’s basketball team finishing in fifth place.
Courtesy of Newberry College
NEWBERRY — The Newberry College women’s basketball team was picked to finish in fifth place in the South Atlantic Conference Preseason Poll.
Newberry returns four out of five starters from a team that finished 2019-20 16-12 overall and 13-9 in conference play and secured the fourth seed in the Conference Championship Tournament.
Newberry lost Second Team All-Conference selection Kelsey McDermott from last season, but they do return senior Keli Romas, who was also voted Second Team All-Conference. Last year Romas led the team in scoring with 11 points per game, pulled down 4.6 rebounds per game, and dished out 3.85 assists, helping her secure a spot on the Preseason All-Conference First Team. Romas finished third in the SAC in free-throw percentage, fourth in assists, fifth in minutes per game, sixth in total minutes, and seventh in free throws.
Courtney Virgo, Kelsey Brett, and Ericka Wiseley are the other three starters returning for Newberry. As a freshman, Virgo averaged almost 28 minutes a game while scoring 7.8 points per game and 4.9 rebounds. Senior Kelsey Brett averaged 27.5 minutes per game with 7.1 points and 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. Center Ericka Wiseley led the team and was sixth in the conference with 1.2 blocks per game.
Newberry also returns Talia Roberts, Mylaysia Gates, Julie Kinard and Ke’Shaun White — they were all key players coming off the bench. Roberts was the leading player off the bench, averaging 10 points per game along with 1.1 assists, while Kinard averaged 1.04 steals per game. White recorded 21 steals and 20 assists for the Wolves, and had 5.1 points per game and 4.7 rebounds.
The coaching staff brought in four newcomers who could help the Wolves build on the success from last season. The freshmen class consists of all guards and includes twin Alexis and Mackenzie Miller, Dyani Burke and Payton Cronen.
The Wolves open their season November 21 as they travel to Harrogate, Tenn. to take on Lincoln Memorial, who was picked to finish right behind Newberry in sixth place.