Courtesy of Newberry College Athletics
AMERICUS, Ga. – The Newberry College women’s basketball team (0-2) dropped their second game of the conference challenge against the Columbus State Cougars 81-55.
The Wolves got off to a good start, scoring the first basket of the game off of a Julia Bongiorno (Rome, Italy) jumper just 11 seconds into the game. Despite setting the tone early, the Wolves defense was unable to slow the Cougars offense and the Wolves found themselves down 24-11 going into the second quarter.
Through the first five minutes of the second quarter, the Wolves went on an 8-3 run, punctuated by a three-point shot from Bongiorno. But the Wolves offense stalled for the final five minutes and the Wolves finished the quarter after scoring 10 points total. That brought the halftime deficit to 40-21 for the Wolves.
The Wolves once again came out of the gate strong offensively. The Wolves went on a 7-0 run through the opening 2:48 of the second half before allowing the Cougars to make their first two points of the third quarter off of a pair of free throws. But once again, defense and turnovers were the tale of the tape for the Wolves and the final 7:12 of the quarter went in favor of the Cougars. The Wolves recorded five steals in the third quarter, but were still outscored and they entered the final ten minutes down 59-34.
The Wolves managed a pair of steals in the final quarter as well as keeping the point differential to 22-21 in favor of the Cougars. The Wolves were unable to push past Columbus State’s offensive prowess and fell 81-55.
Bongiorno led all scorers with 15 points. She also recorded five rebounds and four assists. Redshirt senior center Ericka Wiseley (Mt. Pleasant) was second in scoring for the Wolves with 10 points, seven rebounds, and an assist. Senior guard Holly Davies (Camberly, Surrey, England) rounded out the Wolves top-three with eight points and two assists.