NEWBERRY – On the back of a career high 18 points from sophomore Zara Pearson, as well as a double-double from junior Devanee Taylor, the Newberry women’s basketball team picked up a comfortable 72-44 victory over the visiting Brevard Tornados.

Newberry (18-7, 10-5 SAC) opened the scoring as Taylor scored on an early jumper, before the Wolves surrendered a jumper on the other end to Brevard’s (5-18, 3-12 SAC) Tuccoa Brackett. The jumper by Brackett resulted in the only tie of the entire game at 2-2.

The Wolves promptly scored seven straight points as Taylor hit a pair of layups followed by a 3-point make by Pearson, which put the Wolves ahead of the Tornados 9-2.

Newberry’s lead eventually extended out to nine points as Tasia Holdorf’s layup with 14:32 remaining in the first half gave Newberry a 13-4 lead.

The Tornados cut into the Wolves lead on multiple occasions, but Newberry continued to push out in front of Brevard reaching an 11-point advantage with 4:27 on the clock when Taylor converted a layup opportunity.

After a 3-point make on the other end of the court by the Tornados’ Taylor Hiatt, the Wolves outscored the Tornados 9-2 in the final two minutes of the half. The Wolves headed to the break with a 15-point lead after Pearson scored with 19 seconds remaining in the first period.

The second half opened with a couple more points for Pearson as she converted a pair of early free throws. An exchange of baskets over the next couple of minutes saw the Wolves lead reach 17 points.

A jumper by Brackett cut the Wolves’ lead to 15, before Pearson hit again from beyond the arc to take an 18-point lead. The Wolves lead finally reached 20 points with 4:14 remaining in the game as Holdorf scored from inside the paint to put Newberry ahead 61-40.

The Wolves lead never dipped below 20 points in the final four minutes of the second period, as it reached 28 points after a pair of late made free throws by freshman Shannon Truesdale.

Pearson hit four 3-pointers on the evening on her way to a career high 18 points. Pearson also added four rebounds and four assists. Taylor recorded her first career double-double as she scored a career high 17-points and pulled down a career high 11 rebounds. Holdorf matched her season-high with 14 points off the bench.

Newberry hits the road on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tipoff against the Catawba Lady Indians.