HARROGATE, TENN. — Lincoln Memorial used a strong second half to pull away from Newberry Saturday afternoon and take the 66-56 victory in the season opener for both teams.
Both teams got off to a sluggish start, with neither school able to score for the first 1:42. However, a three-point basket from Courtney Virgo would break the scoreless tie at the 8:18 mark. The Railsplitters would respond with an 8-0 run to make it 8-3 midway through the quarter. Virgo would score again to make it 8-5, but that would be as close as the Wolves would get in the opening period.
The Wolves would come out hot in the second quarter, going on a 6-0 run to make it a one-point game with 7:00 minutes remaining in the half. Ericka Wiseley would get the scoring started when she grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back to make it 20-15. Wiseley would then score on a jumper in the paint on an assist from Keli Romas to make it a three-point game. Romas would then knock down two free throws to cut the Railsplitters lead to one. A layup by Addi Kirkpatrick would stop the Newberry run and make it 22-19. Virgo would then drain a jumper in the paint to move the Wolves back to within one point, and then on the team’s next offensive possession, she would drain a three-pointer to give Newberry their first lead since the 8:18 mark in the first quarter. That would ignite a 9-0 run that would see Newberry take a 28-22 lead. The Wolves would hold off Lincoln Memorial to take a one-point lead into intermission.
The two teams would come out in the second half right where the first half ended. In the first five minutes of the half, there were five lead changes and two ties. Trailing 42-40, freshman Alexis Miller would hit a layup to tie the game up. However, the Railsplitters would go on a 9-0 run to end the quarter and take the lead heading into the final ten minutes.
A layup by Wiseley would end the Lincoln Memorial run and make it 53-44. Tyla Stolberg would then hit a layup and drain a free throw to make it a six-point lead. That would be as close as the Wolves would get in the final quarter as Lincoln Memorial would hold off the Wolves to take the victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Courtney Virgo finished the game with 16 points and 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.
• Ericka Wiseley led all players with four blocks.
• Keli Romas led Newberry with four assists.
• Kelsey Brett scored seven points.
NOTABLES
• Newberry won the battle at the free-throw line, outshooting the Lincoln Memorial 80 percent (12-15) to 63.6 (14-22).
• The Wolves outscored the Railsplitters 16-14 in second-chance points.