WINGATE – Newberry scored 11 unanswered points in the first half to edge the UNCP women's basketball team, 64-58, in its season opener at the OrthoCarolina Classic on Saturday afternoon at the Cuddy Arena. 

The Wolves (1-0) improve to 3-1 all-time against the Lady Braves (0-1) with Saturday's victory. Newberry connected on 10-of-24 three pointers to register a 41.7 three-point percentage. Despite being outrebounded by the Wolves, 41-35, UNCP was able to win the advantage on turnovers, picking up 10 turnovers.

Jazmine Kemp and Amelia Partin led the way for the Black and Gold, scoring 12 points apiece. Partin drilled three of UNCP's four three-point shots, while Kemp was 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Kierra Haney collected a team-high seven rebounds and five blocks for the Lady Braves. 

Newberry was led by forward Samantha Creed, who drained 6-of-11 three pointers and totaled 28 points for the Wolves. Creed delivered six points in a row to give Newberry the momentum to go on an 11-0 run in the first half. 

"We had a very poor first half, we struggled offensively to score. We got the ball to the post and weren't able to convert. We didn't execute on offense very well and they made shots," said UNCP head coach John Haskins. "Second half we came out and executed better, we attacked them a bit more. I thought we played a much better second half, we turned the momentum and got back into the game, we just couldn't get a stop. We cut it to two twice in the last five minutes, but both times they got big buckets. 

We played hard, but have to play better on a consistent basis. We need to get better offensively and we have to play defense. We look forward to going against a very good Wingate team tomorrow and trying to improve," Haskins said. 

The Wolves came into the second half of action with an 11 point lead. UNCP's Chandrica Fuller connected on two free throws before making a jump shot to cut the lead to only seven. With just three minutes remaining in the contest, Kemp made good on back-to-back free throws, bringing Newberry's lead to just two points. Creed posted a trey for Newberry, as the Wolves went on a 9-5 run to put the game away.

Creed tallied 16 first-half points for Newberry, including three three-point buckets. Haney led UNCP with three first-half rebounds and two blocks. Newberry used 11 unanswered points to take a commanding lead, 31-21, at the end of the first half. 

The Lady Braves will be back in action tomorrow against Wingate (0-0) in the second game of the OrthoCarolina Classic, with tipoff set for 5 p.m.