March 10, 2006
#1
SHAW HOLDS OFF #8 NEWBERRY TO REACH REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
RALEIGH, NC – The first-round basketball contest between
top-seeded Shaw and No. 8 Newberry went down the wire but
the Lady Bears made the key plays at the end.
The result was a 53-50 victory Friday before the home fans at Shaw’s Spaulding Gym. The win sent the Lady Bears (27-4 overall) to today’s semifinals and eliminated Newberry (18-13) from the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional. But the crowd didn’t relax until Tavia Clemendor’s midcourt steal and layup with 15 seconds left gave the Lady Bears a 51-47 lead. After another Newberry turnover, Nastassia Boucicault hit two free throws for a six-point lead before Tonique Frasier drilled a three-pointer for the final score.
Shaw coach Jacques Curtis anticipated a nailbiter even though Shaw was the higher-seeded team and played on its homecourt.
“We knew we were playing a quality team.” said Curtis, whose team won its 24 consecutive game and 49th straight home contest. “Newberry beat four teams that are playing in the regional. It was a tough game. Both teams left it out on the court.”
Shaw led by nine points early in the first half, but Newberry tied the score at 26-26 only to watch Leslee Anderson bury a three-pointer from the corner at the buzzer for a 29-26 Shaw halftime lead. In the second half, neither team led by more than four points until Boucicault’s two free throws in the final seconds.
Newberry took away the inside and forced Shaw to take 34 three-point shots with the Lady Bears making six of them. But the Lady Bears’ quickness caused 24 Newberry turnovers which led to 22 points. The mistakes offset the Lady Bears’ 25 percent shooting, a season-low.
“Shaw is really the most athletic team we have faced,” Newberry coach Jason Brink said. “They cover a lot of ground. Unfortunately, we had too many turnovers down the stretch.”
Nicky Souter led the Lady Bears with 12 points and 15 rebounds while Boucicault and Anderson each added 11 points. Clemendor, whose key steal determined the outcome, pulled down 13 rebounds.
Monica Alexander scored 13 points and senior Tonya Deese, playing her final game, finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds to pace Newberry. Tygress Hope added seven points and 10 rebounds.
