NEWBERRY, S.C. - - Newberry shot 51.9 percent from the field and out rebounded UVA Wise 35-to-22 en route to a key 70-62 South Atlantic Conference women's basketball victory inside Eleazer Arena Saturday.

HOW IT BEGAN

UVA Wise jumped out to a 14-13 after the first period by forcing seven Newberry turnovers. Junior guard Nia Vanzant would score six of her game-high 21 points in the opening 10 minutes to aid the visitors to the early lead.

TIED AT THE BREAK

Newberry battled back to tie the score at intermission as Talia Roberts bucket with less than a minute to play in the second quarter tied the game at 26. The period featred four lead changes and six ties as the two schools combined to turn the ball over 11 times.

PULLING AWAY

Newberry used an 11-0 scoring spurt to surge in front 37-31 mid way through the period. The decisive run proved to be the difference maker as UVA Wise would never again lead in the contest. The Wolves shot a blisterring 50 percent from the floor in the period and won the battle of the boards 13-to-4 in the quarter

FINAL TALLY

Newberry would lead by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter before UVA Wise mounted a comeback effort. A Peyton Sams' triple with under 20 seconds to play would cut the deficit to seven but, it would be as close as the Cavs would get in suffering their second consecutive defeat.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

With the win, Newberry moves ½ game in front of UVA Wise for the eighth and final spot in the upcoming SAC Tournament. Vanzant now has 993 points in her career and can become the 23rd player in program history to reach the 1,000 point mark next time out. The Cavs made 19-of-22 free throws in the loss and saw Kalee Johnson (13) and Caitlyn Ross (10) join Vanzant in double figure scoring.

UP NEXT

Limestone visits UVA Wise next Saturday in a 2 p.m. tip.