HARTSVILLE, S.C. - The Coker University women's basketball team bit Newberry for a 94-90 victory to start 2021 on Monday (Jan. 4).

The teams played to a 16-12 Newberry lead through the first five minutes, before the Cobras would tie the game at 18 with under three and a half minutes to play in the quarter. Coker and Newberry battled back and forth for the remainder of the quarter, which left the Cobras with a 27-25 lead.

Back and forth it went through the first four minutes and change of the second quarter, leaving the teams tied at 34. The teams continued to trade buckets into the final two minutes, playing to a 41-41 tie. Newberry's final bucket would come with a minute and a half left in the period, as the Wolves led 44-41 at the break.

Coker and Newberry continued to score at a fast pace, playing to a 48-48 deadlock two and a half minutes into the third. Newberry built a multiple-possession lead over the next few minutes, before the Cobras stormed back to tie the game at 62 with a minute and a half to play in the quarter. Newberry would score six to Coker's three in the remainder of the quarter to take a 68-65 lead to the fourth.

 The teams continued their back-and-forth pace into the final 10 minutes, playing to a 73-73 deadlock two and a half minutes in. After playing to yet another deadlock at 80 with under four minutes to play, the teams would battle to an 85-85 knot with 2:20 left in the quarter. Ashauntee Nelson would knock down a clutch jumper with 58 seconds to play to break the 87-87 tie, putting the Cobras ahead for good. While Newberry continued its strong shooting from beyond the arc, the Cobras were able to put the game away for a great start to 2021. 

The Cobras shot a strong 53.4 percent (31-58) in the victory, aided by nine three-pointers. Ahlea Myers led the Cobras with 24 points, while Nelson added 16. Hope Richardson and Saquita Joyner each chipped in 12 points, while Abigail Keesling also contributed 11 points. Four other Cobras added points in the win. Richardson completed the double-double with a team-high 10 boards, while eight other Cobras were active on the glass in the win. Myers also paced the Cobras with a career-high seven assists, Keesling added three and Nelson and Joyner each helped on one Cobra bucket in the game. Je'Nya Wilder paced the Cobras with a career-high three steals on the night, while six others recorded one steal each.

The Cobras return to action on Wednesday (Jan. 6) to host Limestone in South Atlantic Conference action. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. from the DeLoach Center, with video and live stats available at www.cokercobras.com.

Coker University will continue to assess the NCAA, federal, state and local developments and provide updated revisions as additional information is available.

McDonald's Player of the Game - Ahlea Myers