ROCK HILL, S.C. (Interstat) — Madison Ruff scored 15 points and Winthrop opened its women’s NCAA Division I basketball season with a 57-46 victory over non-divisional opponent Newberry on Monday at Winthrop Coliseum. Winthrop improved to 1-0. The Eagles trailed briefly in the third quarter before using a decisive run to take control. Attendance was 362.

Ruff, a 5-foot-9 guard from Milledgeville, Georgia, and a Baldwin product, added six rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes. Kyra Taylor had nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and one block in 30 minutes. Marta Guilera finished with seven points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes. Ryiah Wilson, a 5-foot-8 guard and George Washington High School product, had eight points, six rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes.

Madison Bush-Lewis scored 10 points and added three rebounds, one assist and one block in 38 minutes. Kayla Preston had four points and one rebound in six minutes. Tocarra Johnson, a 6-foot forward and Crockett High School product, contributed four points, two rebounds and one block in 10 minutes. Laura Silva had two rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes, Summer Henderson had two rebounds in eight minutes, and Lucia Skvarekova played one minute. Winthrop scored 57 points from 72 possessions, an offensive rating of 79.0, and finished with 14 offensive rebounds, 16 assists, three blocks and 17 turnovers.

Winthrop started quickly as Ruff made the first of two free throws at the 7:58 mark and followed with a layup at 7:12. Taylor then converted a layup at 6:44 for a 5-0 lead. Newberry answered when Ryann Hernandez made a jump shot off a turnover at 4:44 and Blanche Toualeu made a layup at 4:06 to cut the deficit to one. Ruff made another layup at 2:08, but Sanae Graham converted back-to-back tip-in layups at 1:40 and 1:07 to give Newberry an 8-7 edge. Ryiah Wilson made a layup at 43.3 seconds and Ruff made a driving layup at 15 seconds to close the first quarter and put Winthrop ahead 11-8.

Graham opened the second-quarter scoring with a turnaround jumper at 9:37. Winthrop answered with a Taylor free throw at 8:18, a Bush-Lewis layup at 7:52 and consecutive driving layups by Taylor at 6:56 and 6:37 to build an 18-10 lead. Newberry responded as Hernandez hit a 3-pointer at 6:18, but Guilera made a layup and a free throw at 5:52 to push the lead to 21-13. Kent made a 3-pointer at 5:39 and Brown added a layup at 4:54 to pull Newberry within 21-18. Ruff made a free throw at 3:43 and Bush-Lewis made a layup at 3:42 before Kent hit another 3-pointer at 3:29. Guilera made a layup at 3:01 to make it 26-21. Kent made two free throws at 2:16 and Graham made a layup at 56.4 seconds to trim the margin to 26-25 at halftime.

The third quarter featured several lead changes. Hernandez made a layup at 9:48 to give Newberry a 27-26 lead. Ruff answered with a layup at 9:36, but Monasia Clinkscales hit a floating jump shot at 9:12 and Graham made a layup at 8:23 and a jump shot at 7:38 to put Newberry ahead 33-30. Winthrop then took over. Ruff made layups at 7:14 and 6:58, Johnson made a jump shot at 5:42 and Preston made layups at 5:06 and 4:27 during a 10-0 run that gave the Eagles a 40-33 advantage. Newberry cut into the lead with two Brown free throws at 3:42 and a Toualeu tip-in at 2:14. Guilera answered with a jump shot at 1:57, Toualeu made a free throw at 1:09, and Bush-Lewis and Ruff each made a free throw in the final minute to close the quarter with Winthrop ahead 44-38.

Bush-Lewis opened the fourth with a 3-point jump shot at 8:50, Johnson made a layup at 8:09 and Wilson connected on a 3-pointer at 7:22 and a layup at 4:53 as Winthrop extended its lead to 54-40. Kent made a 3-pointer at 4:17 to cut the deficit to 11, but Taylor answered with a driving layup at 2:28 and Wilson made the second of two free throws at 1:58 to make it 57-43. Kent made a layup at 1:05 and Chloe Grant made the second of two free throws with 52.2 seconds left for the final margin.

Newberry’s offense was fueled by Graham’s work inside, Kent’s outside shooting and Hernandez’s ability to hit from the perimeter. Toualeu scored on a layup and a tip-in, Brown made a layup and free throws, Clinkscales hit a floating jump shot and Grant made a free throw. Ruff scored seven points in the first quarter and seven in the third, while Taylor and Bush-Lewis provided steady support for the Eagles.

Winthrop’s schedule continues with a trip to Georgia on Nov. 5. The Eagles then host Johnson C. Smith on Nov. 10, Clinton on Nov. 14 and South Carolina State on Nov. 17. Winthrop visits San Diego State on Nov. 22 and will play James Madison on Nov. 24 and Grand Canyon on Nov. 25 in San Diego, California. Hampton visits on Nov. 30, and Winthrop travels to South Carolina Upstate on Dec. 2 before Chicago State visits on Dec. 3.