By: Jake Miller

HARTSVILLE, S.C.- Coker women's basketball dropped its final home game to Newberry 70-62 in South Atlantic Conference action on Wednesday (Feb. 22).

The teams played a tight first quarter that ended with Newberry leading 19-14. Newberry would lead by as many as 10 in the second quarter, and take a 35-28 lead to the locker room.

The visitors would stretch their lead to a game-high 16 in the third, before Coker battled back and kept the crowd alive inside the DeLoach Center. An Iresha Cooper jump shot started the rally, followed up by layups from Aloni McFarland, Trai Johnson and McFarland again. A pair of free throws by Lindsey Adams and a Cooper jump shot cut the deficit to 11 going to the final 10 minutes.

Caitland Considine netted the first bucket of the fourth, and the teams traded baskets for the early part of the frame. A jumper from Johnson and back-to-back buckets from Jackson got the Cobras just a bit closer, before Sydney Shull put a charge into the Hartsville natives with a wide open three-pointer to trim the deficit to six. The deficit fluctuated for the next minute or so before Cooper would make her presence known with two straight buckets to get the Navy and Gold within five with 2:45 to play.

The Cobras resorted to putting Newberry on the line, forcing the visitors to pad their lead at their own discipline. Newberry was able to get their lead back up to 11, before a long ball from Adams got Coker back within single digits. Adams would sink another jumper with 13 seconds left but that is all Coker would get as the Wolves ran out the clock.

Adams led all scorers with 17 points, while Shull pitched in nine and Cooper chalked up eight. As a team, Coker shot 50.0 percent from long range, out-rebounded Newberry 38-27 and won the battle in the paint 26-16. Coker's reserves also out-scored their counterparts 44-13 in the contest.

The Cobras will wrap up the regular season on Saturday (Feb. 25) when they head to Jefferson City, Tenn. to take on the Eagles of Carson-Newman. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m.

McDonald's Player of the Game- Lindsey Adams