Maelyn Cutshaw scored a season-high 20 points and Tusculum College forced Newberry College into 27 turnovers as the Pioneers defeated the Wolves 71-56 in a South Atlantic Conference Women's basketball game Friday night at Pioneer Arena.

Shynese Whitener added 17 points, six rebounds and five assists and Kristen McMillion grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with a career-best seven steals for the Pioneers (1-9, 1-5 SAC), who turned the Wolves' 27 turnovers into 32 points while allowing just five points off its 23 turnovers.

Haylee Lepaio led Newberry (6-4, 2-4 SAC) with 18 points and nine rebounds, but was limited in the second half due to foul trouble. Newberry shot 35.5 percent (22-for-62) from the field and trailed by as many as 26 points in the second half to Tusculum.

Cutshaw went 8-for-12 from the field, including a three-pointer, and hit 3-for-4 from the foul line to reach double figures for the first time this season. She also had three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 26 minutes off the bench for the Pioneers.

Tusculum outscored Newberry 21-7 over the final 8 1/2 minutes of the first half to turn a 20-16 deficit into a 37-27 lead at the break. The Pioneers kept the lead in double figures for the entire second half to snap a nine-game losing streak and claim their first win of the season.

Newberry jumped to an early 7-2 lead following a three-pointer by Tasia Holdorf with 3 1/2 minutes gone in the first half, but Tusculum came back to tie the score at 9-9 on a layup by Jessica Hairston with 12:37 left in the half.

A layup by Zara Pearson gave the Wolves a 16-11 lead midway through the half, but a three-pointer by Cutshaw and a layup by Whitener tied the game at 16-16 with 9:45 to play before intermission. A Cutshaw putback with 3:54 left in the half gave the Pioneers the lead for good at 26-25, and she added four more points during an 8-0 run over the final 2:40 that sent the Pioneers to the locker room with a 37-27 lead.

Lepaio led all players with 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting in the first half for the Wolves, while Cutshaw paced the Pioneers with nine points on 4-for-5 shooting. Tusculum shot 43.8 percent (14-for-32) in the half) while holding Newberry to 36.4 percent (12-for-33) and no free throw attempts.

The Pioneers poured on the offense in the second half, going up 44-29 on two free throws by Nequoiah Anderson with 15:03 left. The lead swelled to 21 points at 62-41 following a jumper by Cutshaw with 7:18 remaining, and Tusculum took its largest lead at 71-45 on a three-pointer by Blakeley Burleson with 4:46 left. Newberry closed the game with an 11-0 run, including a trio of three-pointers in the final 90 seconds.

Burleson finished with 11 points and a season-high eight rebounds in 33 minutes for the Pioneers, while Anderson had eight points, three rebounds and three assists. Brianna Mitchell also had a solid performance for Tusculum with seven points, six rebounds and four steals in 27 minutes.

Holdorf was the only other player to reach double figures for the Wolves, recording 11 points to go along with five rebounds. Newberry finished the game 6-for-17 from three-point range and 6-for-12 at the foul line.

Tusculum held a 44-41 edge in rebounding over Newberry in the game. McMillion, the SAC leader in rebounding average at 9.4 per contest, reached double figures for the fourth straight game and sixth time this season with her game-high 10 boards.

The Pioneers return to action Wednesday at Brevard in a South Atlantic Conference battle with the Tornados. The teams met in Greeneville on Nov. 26, with Brevard rallying late for a 63-55 victory.