Mid-Carolina stomps Newberry in huge rivalry matchup

PROSPERITY, S.C. — The Mid-Carolina lady Rebels took game one in the basketball edition of the two cross town rivals. The lady Rebels(2-5) defeated the lady Bulldogs(2-4) 43-22 on Friday, Dec. 13th in part one of the rivalry series.

The two teams met for the first time this season on Friday night in front of a packed crowd on the campus of Mid-Carolina. The rivalry wasn’t much of a contest now that the lady Rebels are fully healthy. They led 17-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Both teams’ offenses struggled in the second quarter and they combined to score just 12 points. Regardless of the second quarter struggles, Mid-Carolina went into halftime leading Newberry 22-13.

The lady Rebels starting forward Callie Wilbanks got into foul trouble in the early third quarter and was forced to sit a long stretch. The break rejuvenated Wilbanks and she knocked down two huge three-pointers when she reentered the game to get the crowd on their feet.

“If she is making outside shots then it opens everything else up. She is one of our better shooters. If she hits one then she is liable to hit two or three more. She did hit two big ones in the second half and it was huge. It gave us some confidence and it was a big momentum shift,” said Rebels’ head coach Gary Wilbanks.

Mid-Carolina took 31-18 lead in the fourth quarter and kept building on it. They held the lady Bulldogs to just nine points in the second half.

Wilbanks lead the way with 12 points. Brea Boyd had nine points while her back court mates Brayden Brooks and Logann Brooks had seven points each.

“It’s huge to have everyone back especially when four of the starting five been playing together for the last couple of years. They play off each other and obviously with Brea being out. She makes everything go and not just with her scoring points, but she distributes the ball and very active on defense,” said Wilbanks. “Getting her back helps everybody get back in the flow. On Tuesday night, we had almost had four people in double figures. Tonight we had like 7,7,9 and 12. Those four make everything go and if we are distributing the ball and doing that then we will be alright.”

Newberry struggled all night, including their top player. Daizee Williams was held in check with only three points. Their second leading scorer, Tamaria Wadworth, finished the game with just five points.

The two teams will meet again in Newberry on January 3rd.