NEWBERRY, S.C. - The Newberry Wolves battled on Wednesday but in the end the Bears were too much for their South Atlantic Conference counterparts, winning 72-57 on the road.
Lenoir-Rhyne was led by 22 points from
Aaliyah El. Freshman
Trista Charles was big for the Bears, scoring 12 points on the night, just a point shy of her career high.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #24 Lenoir-Rhyne 72, Newberry 57
Records: Lenoir-Rhyne (19-4, 15-2 SAC), Newberry (12-12, 6-11 SAC)
Location: Newberry, S.C. | Eleazer Arena
STORY OF THE GAME:
- Leading 8-6 Lenoir-Rhyne closed the quarter on a 14-2 run to lead 22-8 after one.
- Elyseia Brown hit a three and a two to extend the Bear lead to 27-10.
- Trista Charles made it a 22-point Lenoir-Rhyne advantage with a three midway through the second quarter.
- Newberry outscored the Bears by five the rest of the frame but Lenoir-Rhyne still led 38-21 at the break.
- The Wolves won the third quarter 14-10 and trailed by 13 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
- Aaliyah El scored nine points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
STATS OF THE GAME:
- Aaliyah El (22), Trista Charles (12), and Elyseia Brown (10) finished in double figures.
- Lauren Arnold led the Bears with seven boards while Ralee Bare was tops with five assists.
- The Bears went 27-61 (44.3%) from the field, 6-20 (30%) from three, and 12-20 (60%) from the free throw line.
- The Wolves went 20-53 (37.7%) from the field, 4-14 (28.6%) from three, and 13-21 (61.9%) from the free throw line.
- Lenoir-Rhyne doubled Newberry's points in the paint 40-20 and scored 23 points off 20 Wolves turnovers.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series 39-28 and has won five of the last six meetings.
- The 14 straight wins is tied for the second most in program history. The record of 15 was set during the 1979-80 season.
- The Bears continue to sit in first in the SAC standings, one game ahead of Lincoln Memorial and Coker.
UP NEXT: Lenoir-Rhyne will travel to Mars Hill on Saturday. The Lions defeated Tusculum 70-67 earlier tonight. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.