Cobras Drop SAC Contest to Newberry

By: Jake Miller

NEWBERRY, S.C.- Coker women's basketball fell in its South Atlantic Conference contest to Newberry 64-42 on Wednesday (Jan. 11).

The teams played a close first quarter, nearly going basket for basket as Newberry led 14-11. The home team was able to stretch its lead after an abysmal second quarter by the Navy and Gold. Coker struggled to score and take care of the basketball in the frame, going to the half trailing 29-12.

Coker started off the second half with a run started by a jumper from Kendra Lambert and a bucket close in from Iresha Cooper. Lyric Levester would split a pair of free throws, followed by a split pair by Cooper two possessions later. Cooper would force a Newberry timeout after her second straight bucket, and after a Wolves timeout Coker trailed by just nine.  Newberry would re-gain its double-digit lead and take it to the fourth quarter at 47-32, despite both teams scoring 18 points in the frame.

Cooper finished with a team-high nine, while Sydney Shull and Kendra Lambert each registered seven. Six other Cobras contributed points in the contest. As a team, Coker out-rebounded the Wolves 38-35, and the bench outscored its counterpart 18-5.

The Cobras return home on Saturday (Jan. 14) to host Carson-Newman in South Atlantic Conference action. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m. at the DeLoach Center. Tickets for the game are $5 for adults, $3 for students and free to all Coker faculty, staff and students.