Essex
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_12401L.jpgEssex

NEWBERRY — The Newberry College women’s basketball team dropped to the Lions of Mars Hill University 61-58, on Saturday afternoon. The Wolves defeated the Lions 76-58 earlier this season in South Atlantic Conference play.

With the win, Newberry falls to 12-10 overall and 11-5 in the South Atlantic Conference while Mars Hill improves to 11-9 overall and 10-5 in the SAC.

At the half, Meg Essex led the team in points with eight followed by Nicola Handreck and Colleen Leung who scored seven each. Going into the third quarter, the Wolves shot 66.7% from the line and 37.5% from the arch.

Essex finished the game with 21 points, eight rebounds, one assist, and three blocks.Samantha Creed finished with eight points, four assists, two steals, and three rebounds.Jaya Schultz led the game in rebounds with nine while Shelby Britten led the team in steals with three.

As a team, the Wolves shot 60.0% from the line and 34.8% from the field.

The Wolves got on the board first with a layup from Essex just 39 seconds into the game. Essex got on the board again with a jumper off a pass from Kirsten Dunsmore at the 8:03 mark for a 4-0 lead. The Lions scored seven points until Newberry got back onto the board with 3:38 left when Leung made a layup to cut the Lions’ lead to 7-6.

Handreck tied the game at the 2:54 mark with a free throw before Dunsmore gave Newberry the lead (9-7) with a layup just eight seconds later. Handreck then drained a 3-pointer with 1:50 left for a 12-7 lead. With 59 seconds left Leung closed the quarter for Newberry with a 3-pointer.

Going into the second quarter the Wolves had a 15-11 lead over Mars Hill. Handreck started the quarter hot with a 3-pointer less than a minute in. Essex increased the lead to 20-13 with a layup with 7:18 left until half.

Schultz made a three-point play at the 5:50 mark with a layup and a free throw for a 23-17 lead. Creed got on the board at the 2:53 mark with a layup followed by a layup from Brandi Hall with 1:47 left. Hall’s layup was the last basket for Newberry until the third quarter. Leaving the second quarter, Newberry had a 31-30 lead.

The Lions took a 36-31 lead until Newberry could get onto the board. Creed started the scoring for Newberry with a 3-pointer with 8:53 left. Creed scored again with a layup off a pass from Handreck to cut Mars Hill’s lead to 38-36. Dunsmore tied the game at 38-38 with a layup off a pass from Essex with 7:46 left.

Essex scored the last two baskets for Newberry starting at the 2:23 mark. Essex hit a jumper with 2:23 left off a pass from Britten followed by another jumper with 1:19 left. Leaving the third quarter Mars Hill had a 50-45 lead.

The Wolves scored just 13 points in the final quarter with nine of them coming from Essex. Newberry was quiet on offense until Essex made a layup at the 7:19 mark. Essex made it a three-point play with a free throw after being fouled by Cadence Wilmoth.

Britten cut Mars Hill’s lead to 53-50 with a layup just under 6:56 left to play. At the 6:29 mark, Essex finished a pass from Creed for a layup to put Newberry just one point away from tying the game (53-52). With 4:15 left in the game Britten took a pass from Creed for a jumper to make the score 56-54.

Essex tied the game at 56-56 at the 3:36 mark by making two free throws. With 49 seconds left, Essex closed the game for Newberry with a layup.

The Wolves are home again on Feb. 10 against Catawba at 6 p.m.

This release provided by Newberry College.