2006 Food Lion SAC Women's Basketball Championship: Newberry Upsets Wingate, Tusculum Defeats Carson-Newman
March 4, 2006

Courtesy Host Schools Sports Information Offices

Tourney Cental

Newberry 70, Wingate 55

Tusculum 76, Carson-Newman 59

Newberry 70, Wingate 55
HICKORY, N.C. – Newberry College’s sophomores Monica Alexander (Norcross, Ga.) and Tonique Fraiser (Walterboro, S.C.) scored 21 points apiece to lead the No. 5 seed Lady Indians to a 70-55 upset of top seed Wingate University in the semifinals of the 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament held this afternoon at the Catawba Valley Community College.

Newberry (17-12) advances to the program’s first Food Lion SAC Tournament championship game with the victory. The Lady Indians will take on the winner of the No. 2 seed Carson-Newman College/No. 7 seed Tusculum College game Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm. Wingate, the tournament’s top seed, has its 12-game win streak snapped with the loss and drops to 23-6 on the season.

In the first half, Wingate’s junior Petra Nagy (Budapest, Hungary) gave the Bulldogs an early 3-0 lead, but Newberry responded with a 16-6 run to pull ahead 16-9 on a layup by sophomore Ashlee Wright (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) at the 13:19 mark. After Wingate trimmed the lead to 18-13 at the 9:22 mark on a jumper by All-SAC selection, junior Emily Paffrath (Bakersville, N.C.), the Lady Indians put together a 9-0 run to pull ahead 27-13 with 5:59 remaining in the half.

Newberry continued to hold a double figure lead the rest of the half and led 35-23 entering halftime. Alexander led the Lady Indians in the first half with 10 points on four of five shooting from the field, while Wingate was led by SAC Player of the Year selection, junior Tanetra Barrett (Marshville, N.C.) who tallied 10 first half points. The Lady Indians shot 51.7 percent from the floor in the first half, while the Bulldogs shot only 34.6 percent.

The Lady Indians opened the second half on a 12-4 run to pull ahead 47-27 at the 15:49 mark on a pair of free throws by Wright. Wingate would trim the lead to12 points at 51-39 at the 10:38 mark on a layup by Barrett, but the Lady Indians responded with 10-2 run over the next three minutes to push the lead back to 20 points at 61-41 with 7:06 remaining. Wingate would make a final run in the final moments to cut the lead to 70-55 as time expired.

Alexander hit nine of 13 field goals on the day and added seven boards, while All-SAC standout, Frasier hit seven-of-11 field goals and dished out seven assists for the Lady Indians. Wright rounded out the double figure scorers for Newberry with 14 points and six assists. Wingate was led by Barrett’s game-high 22 points on eight-of-18 shooting from the floor and added five assists.

The Lady Indians shot 51.9 percent from the floor for the game and held a 38-29 advantage on the backboards, while Wingate shot only 37 percent from the floor for the game.

“Our ladies kept their composure tonight, and stuck to the execution of the game plan. They carried out the offense and the defensive effort was outstanding. [Allowing only] 23 points in a half is more than I could have asked for from them.” –Newberry head coach Jason Brink

NEWBERRY COLLEGE 70, WINGATE UNIVERSITY 55
NEWBERRY COLLEGE (17-12 overall): Frasier, Tonique 9-13 3-8 21; Alexander, Monica 7-11 6-6 21; Wright, Ashlee 5-11 4-4 14; Snowden, Cortney 2-3 1-2 5; Deese, Tonya 2-4 0-0 4; Marquardt, Laura 1-5 0-0 3; Hope, Tygress 1-3 0-2 2; Jenkins, Cicely 0-0 0-0 0; Green, Elizabeth 0-0 0-0 0; Yaklich, Jonelle 0-0 0-0 0; Lemoine, Marie-Eve 0-0 0-0 0; Bulcher, Anita 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-52 14-22 70.
WINGATE UNIVERSITY (23-6 overall): Barrett, Tanetra 8-18 6-8 22; Nagy, Petra 2-5 4-5 9; Byer, Lakin 3-5 0-0 6; Paffrath, Emily 3-6 0-0 6; Edwards, Kate 2-5 0-0 5; West, Brittany 1-2 0-0 2; Gillis, Kasey 1-2 0-0 2; Atkinson, Anna 0-4 2-2 2; Taylor, Veronica 0-1 1-2 1; Metzker, Kerri 0-1 0-0 0; Tucker, Leslie 0-1 0-0 0; Proffit, Shannon0-2 0-0 0; Mincey, Paige 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-54 13-17 55.

Newberry College.............. 35 35 - 70 
Wingate University............ 23 32 - 55

3-point goals-Newberry College 2-5 (Marquardt, Laura 1-4; Alexander, Monica 1-1), Wingate University 2-14 (Nagy, Petra 1-4; Edwards, Kate 1-4; Atkinson, Anna 0-2; Taylor, Veronica 0-1; Proffit, Shannon 0-1; Byer, Lakin 0-1; Barrett, Tanetra 0-1). Fouled out--Newberry College-None, Wingate University-None. Rebounds-Newberry College 38 (Deese, Tonya 8), Wingate University 29 (Barrett, Tanetra 5). Assists-Newberry College 15 (Alexander, Monica 7), Wingate University 13 (Atkinson, Anna 4; Gillis, Kasey 4). Total fouls-Newberry College 18, Wingate University 20. A-499

Tusculum 76, Carson-Newman 59
HICKORY, N.C. -Tusculum College senior forward Amber Redding (Sevierville, Tenn.) and junior guard Chassity Martin (Salem, Va.) combined for 40 points, leading the Pioneers to a 76-59 victory over Carson-Newman College in the semifinals of the 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference women's basketball tournament Saturday night at the Catawba Valley Community College Arena.

The number three seed, Tusculum (18-9 overall) will look to write its name in the history books Sunday, as the Pioneers will be making their first-ever appearance in the championship game. TC will face Newberry College Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. Carson-Newman completes the 2005-06 campaign 16-13 overall.

Redding led all scorers with 22 points. The All-SAC performer hit eight-of-eight field goals and four-of-four three-point field goals. Martin had 18 points, including three triples. Tusculum point guard Brooke Underwood (Knoxville, Tenn.) added 12 points and a game-high six assists.

Carson-Newman senior forward/guard Giovanni Booker (Orlando, Fla.) had 16 points for the Eagles. Junior guard Cassie Burks (Las Vegas, Nevada) contributed 13 points, while sophomore center Tashea Ledbetter (Charlotte, N.C.) chipped in 10 markers.

On Saturday evening, Tusculum took a 36-22 halftime lead. Burks opened the second half with a three- pointer and a two-pointer to move the Eagles within nine (36-27) at the 17:41 mark.

Carson-Newman would get no closer, as Martin and freshman guard Ashli Oliver (Kokomo, Ind.) combined for six points to push the Tusculum advantage to 42-27 with 15:23 remaining. The Pioneers gradually pulled away, taking a 69-48 lead on a trifecta by freshman guard Shantae Shank (Charlotte, N.C.) with 3:19 to play. The 21-point bulge was Tusculum's biggest lead of the semi-final contest.

Tusculum opened the game on a 9-0 run fueled by three-pointers from All-SAC selections, Martin and Underwood. Four different Pioneers scored as TC opened a 13-2 advantage.

Carson-Newman answered 12-0 run of its own to take a 14-13 lead on a jumper by senior guard Gabrielle Smith (Kansas City, Mo.). Tusculum quickly regained the upper hand as Shank hit a floater on the next possession.

Redding went on a personal 8-0 run, including back-to-back three-point field goals. Redding's flurry put the Pioneers up 34-18 at the 2:19 mark of the first half. The 16-point bulge was Tusculum's biggest lead of the opening frame.

Tusculum hit 10 three-pointers on the evening. The Pioneers outrebounded the Eagles 38-31, thanks to a game-high 12 boards by freshman forward Stephany Neptune (Wallkill, N.Y.).

"I'm just extremely proud of our kids," said Tusculum coach Missy Tiber. "It's kind of amazing to be here 18-9 and in the championship game. Amber Redding was unbelievable tonight and Brooke Underwood had a tremendous floor game again. But we're here because we played good defense.

Tiber said the matchup with Newberry is, "Scary. They're playing so well. They're so athletic, so big. They're everything we're not."

Carson-Newman coach Dean Walsh said it was disappointing the Eagles would not be defending their tournament championship, but "I hope Tusculum brings it home and keeps it in the state of Tennessee. The kids fought and played hard. There's no doubt we overachieved this year."

TUSCULUM 76, CARSON-NEWMAN 59
TUSCULUM (18-9 overall) Redding, Amber 8-8 2-3 22; Martin, Chassity 6-14 3-5 18; Underwood, Brooke 4-10 3-4 12; Shank, Shantae 3-5 2-2 9; Wrightson, Lauren 1-2 4-5 6; Neptune, Stephany 1-5 2-2 4; Oliver, Ashli 1-5 0-0 3; Waddell, Brooke 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 25-52 16-21 76.
CARSON-NEWMAN (16-13 overall) Booker, Giovanni 7-12 1-1 16; Burks, Cassie 4-8 3-7 13; Ledbetter, Tashea 5-12 0- 0 10; Avrett, Nicole 4-13 0-0 9; Smith, Gabrielle 3-7 1-1 7; Tipton, Ashley 0-2 2-2 2; Garcia, Elyse 1-3 0-0 2; Cleusix, Melanie 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 24-58 7-12 59.

Tusculum College.............. 36 40 - 76 
Carson-Newman College......... 22 37 - 59

3-point goals-Tusculum College 10-25 (Redding, Amber 4-4; Martin, Chassity 3-10; Shank, Shantae 1-2; Underwood, Brooke 1-2; Oliver, Ashli 1-5; Waddell, Brooke 0- 2), Carson-Newman College 4-11 (Burks, Cassie 2-5; Avrett, Nicole 1-3; Booker, Giovanni 1-2; Garcia, Elyse 0-1). Fouled out--Tusculum College-None, Carson- Newman College-Smith, Gabrielle. Rebounds-Tusculum College 38 (Neptune, Stephany 12), Carson-Newman College 31 (Avrett, Nicole 5). Assists-Tusculum College 14 (Underwood, Brooke 6), Carson-Newman College 9 (Avrett, Nicole 2; Garcia, Elyse 2). Total fouls-Tusculum College 15, Carson-Newman College 16. A-499