Women's Basketball Loses to Newberry
The Lions lost to Newberry 76-58 in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball action Wednesday night in Stanford Arena
MARS HILL, N.C. – The Lions lost to Newberry 76-58 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday night in Stanford Arena. Mars Hill fell to 2-7 overall and 1-3 in the league. The Wolves improved to 5-5 on the season, 4-1 in the SAC.
Ansley Ricker led the Lions with 19 points followed by Paige Chavis with 14 points and seven rebounds. She added five assists. Cadence Wilmoth was the only other Lion in double-figures in scoring with 11 points. MHU edged the Wolves in rebounding, 36-35. The Lions shot 38.9% (21-54) from the floor, 33.3% (3-9) from 3-point range and 65% (13-20) from the foul line.
Samantha Creed led all scorers with 23 points to lead Newberry. Creed also led the Wolves with six rebounds. Nicola Handreck had 14 points and six assists while Kirsten Dunsmore added 13 points and five rebounds. Newberry shot 43.1% (25-58) from the floor, 52.9% (9-17) from behind the arc and 77.3% (17-22) from the charity stripe.
The Lions jumped out to a 9-2 lead to start the game before Newberry went on a 14-3 run capped off by a 3-pointer by Samara Hill to lead 16-12 with 18 seconds left in the first period. A layup by Ricker ended the first quarter of play with Newberry leading by two points (16-14).
Ricker opened the second frame with a 3-pointer to knot the contest at 16-all with 9:47 on the clock. The Wolves then outscored the Lions 27-9 to lead by 18 points with 2:20 left in the first half after Creed hit a 3-pointer. After over two minutes of scoreless play, Chavis hit a shot in the lane with four seconds left in the first half to send the teams into the locker rooms at the intermission with Newberry leading by 16 (43-27).
Newberry led by as many as 23 points (54-31) with 6:21 remaining in the third quarter after Handreck hit a couple of free throws. Mars Hill trimmed the deficit to 15 points (56-41) after a free throw by Kelsey Espinosa with 1:31 left in the third stanza capped off a 10-2 run by the Lions. Creed sank two free throws with 1:16 on the clock to end the scoring in the third quarter and send the teams into the final period of play with Newberry leading 58-41.
Newberry extended their advantage to 20 points on two occasions in the fourth quarter. Mars Hill trimmed the Wolves lead to 14 points with 2:55 remaining in regulation after Ricker hit a 3-pointer but that was as close as the Lions would get.
Mars Hill will host Queens in Stanford Arena on Saturday, December 19. The game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.