Women's Basketball Loses at Newberry

NEWBERRY, S.C. – Mars Hill lost to Newberry in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action, 61-58 Saturday afternoon in Eleazer Arena. Ansley Ricker and Autumn Ward led the Lions scoring 17 and 14 points in the game, respectively. MHU fell to 2-10 overall and 1-7 in the SAC. The Wolves improved to 8-4 on the season and an even 4-4 in the league.

Ricker added eight rebounds and six steals in the contest. Ward posted four rebounds and three steals. MHU hit 36.2% (21-58) from the field and only 15.8% (3-19) from 3-point range. The Lions forced Newberry into 25 turnovers which directly led to 23 points for MHU. The game saw seven ties and eight lead changes.

Tasia Holdorf led the Wolves with a game high 23 points. Aaliyah Ramirez followed with 12 points off the bench. Newberry connected on 46.9% of their shots, 43.8% (7-16) from behind the arc. The Wolves won the battle of the boards, 39-32.

The Wolves jumped out to a nine-point lead (11-2) with 14:54 left in the first half after Holdorf hit a layup. A 15-4 run by the Lions over the next seven minutes gave MHU the lead (17-15) with 8:16 on the clock after Paige Chavis hit a shot in the paint. Mars Hill led by as many as five points with 43 ticks left in the first frame after Sydney Comer scored inside. A layup by Emily Perry with 14 seconds left in the half sent the teams into the locker rooms with the Lions enjoying a 30-27 advantage.

A layup by Ricker put the Lions on top by five points (32-27) 54 seconds into the second stanza. Unfortunately, the Wolves outscored the Lions 15-7 during the next seven minutes to take the lead (42-39) for good after Perry hit a shot from behind the arc. Newberry extended their advantage to as many as 11 points (51-40) when Holdorf hit a jumper with 5:03 left in regulation. A closing 18-10 run by the Lions fell short as MHU lost in the end by three points (61-58).

Mars Hill will host Anderson on Wednesday, January 15. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.