SALISBURY, N.C. — The Newberry women’s basketball team fell short to the Catawba Indians, 65-48, in round one of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Mar. 2.

With the loss, Newberry is eliminated from postseason play and wraps up their season at 12-16 overall (12-13 SAC).

Despite losing the turnover battle, 30-7, Newberry was able to contain Catawba defensively, holding the Indians under 38% shooting from the field and under 35% from three.

Two Wolves scored in double figures led by sophomore Payton Cronen (Louisville, Ky.) with 16 points, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc and 6-for-7 from the field. Junior Giulia Bongiorno (Rome, Italy) provided a scoring spark for the Wolves, tallying 12 points and five rebounds on the night.

Holly Davies was also a key contributor for the Wolves, netting seven points, three rebounds, and handing out two helpers on the night.

Bongiorno opened up scoring for the Wolves with a triple to go up, 3-2, just over a minute into the contest. Catawba responded by outscoring Newberry, 23-10, to head into the second quarter with a 13-point advantage.

Cronen scored the Wolves only points of the second quarter (10) to cut the deficit down to 23-13 midway through the second. Despite 10 from Cronen in the second, Catawba’s Shemya Stanback and Janiya Downs combined for nine points to send the Indians into the half with a 35-20 lead.

Newberry began to climb back into the game in the second half as they opened the third quarter with a trio of triples from Bongiorno (1) and Cronen (2). Lyrik Thorne responded with a drained three of her own to increase the advantage back to 11 (40-29). Newberry went on to outscore Catawba, 17-13, in the third to head into the final quarter down 48-37.

With the Wolves season in the balance, Bongiorno scored four-straight for Newberry to cut the margin to nine two minutes into the fourth. Sara McIntosh responded by knocking down a pair of free throws, only for junior Holly Davies (Surrey, England) to drain a three to bring it back within eight. Catawba went on an 8-0 run that lasted until the 1:47 mark to go up by as much as 16 before senior Talia Roberts (Columbia) knocked down a free throw to end the run. The Indians outscored the Wolves, 17-11 in the fourth to secure the, 65-48 victory to advance to the SAC semifinals.