ANDERSON — The Newberry College women’s basketball team (6-15, 2-9 South Atlantic Conference) dropped their divisional matchup to the Anderson Trojans last week, 55-47.
The team’s top scorer was junior guard Payton Cronen (Louisville, Ky.) who netted 15 points and was three-for-four from beyond the arc against the Trojans. She also recorded four rebounds and an assist in the contest. Senior guard Giulia Bongiorno (Rome, Italy) was the other Wolf to put up double digit points. She did so with 11 points. Bongiorno also added three assists and a rebound to her totals for the night. Redshirt senior center Ericka Wiseley (Mt. Pleasant) finished the game with nine points and nine rebounds, one off in both categories from earning a double-double.
The Wolves started off the match strong, as an early steal by junior guard Fatih Putz (Des Moines, Iowa) led to a basket by Wiseley that got Newberry off to an early lead. The lead held strong until there was just over five-and-a-half minutes to play in the first half, when the Wolves held a 13-2 advantage over the Trojans. Cronen, Wiseley and senior guard Holly Davies (Camberley, Surrey, England) combined to quickly build that lead for the Wolves. For the rest of the quarter, the Wolves’ offense coasted to a 21-6 lead by quarter’s end. But as strong as the offense was, the Wolves defense was just as strong, allowing just two field goals in the quarter.
Both teams struggled to make baskets in the second quarter. Wiseley netted the first second-quarter points for either team just over two minutes into the second period of play by trading baskets with Anderson under a minute into play in the second quarter. It took the Wolves over a minute to score their next point, and over three minutes before the next Newberry field goal. Over that almost four minute stretch, the Wolves’ defense held Anderson to just two points. The final four-and-a-half minutes were tightly contested as the teams traded baskets and free with Newberry ending the half up 30-13.
The second half was not kind to the Wolves at all. The team was unable to score until over five-and-a-half minutes had elapsed in the third quarter and Anderson had erased the 17-point halftime lead, with the game tied at 30 points a piece. The Wolves regrouped and scored towards the end of the quarter, but after the tie, the Trojans took an eight-point lead going into the final quarter. The Wolves shot two of 12 from the field in the third quarter. The Anderson lead stood at two points, 38-36, heading into the final ten minutes of play.
The Trojans took their lead and did not look back, growing the lead to eight points before the Wolves netted their first points of the quarter with just over four minutes to play. Newberry shot better from the field, 4-14 with a three point shot, and were perfect from the line in the fourth quarter. Still, Anderson outpaced the Wolves and Newberry fell 55-47.