JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Newberry women’s basketball team (10-6, 6-6 SAC) fell to the Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (12-6, 9-3 SAC) by a final of 83-73 on Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.
Without the addition of their leading scorer in Meg Essex, Newberry would have to find help elsewhere. Nicola Handreck would answer the call dropping a career-high 36 points on 13-of-23 shooting, which included knocking down an unprecedented nine three-pointers. Her previous career-high was a 25-point game vs. Lincoln Memorial in February of last season.
Nicola would also dish out five assists for the Wolves as she inches near the top-10 in school history for assists in a career.
Handreck’s 36 points tied her for fourth all-time in school history for points in a single game. The nine three-pointers also put the junior guard in the South Atlantic Conference record books, placing the product from Heywood, Australia in a four-way tie for third all-time.
The 36-point outburst is the second-highest scoring output in the conference this season, runner-up to Catawba’s Bri Johnson, who dropped 41 points at Carson-Newman in December.
Despite shooting better from the field than Carson-Newman, the Wolves would be plagued by turnovers committing 16 to the Eagles 7. The rebound differential would also favor the Eagles who recorded 20 offensive rebounds on the afternoon, which would lead to 16 second-chance points.
The Eagles would be catapulted by an 11-0 run midway through the 2nd quarter to give C-N a five-point lead at the half. Carson-Newman would add an 8-0 run late in the fourth quarter to seal their ninth conference win this season.
Mika Wester lead Carson-Newman with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go with six rebounds. Wester was averaging 18.3 points per game entering the day, which is fourth in the SAC.
Shelby Britten added 13 points for Newberry on 3-of-4 shooting from downtown. The sophomore guard would dish out eight assists and grab five rebounds. Only two Wolves starters finished the game in double figures, a stat that has only occurred three other times this season.
Sophomore forward Brandi Hall chipped in a season-high 15 minutes with the absence of Essex, corralling six rebounds, tying a career-high.
Courtney Lyons, who has filled in as a starter for Newberry in two other instances this season, finished the game with five points, three rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes.
The Wolves will return to Eleazer Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 25th to take on Queens University. Newberry holds an 8-2 record at home this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.