NEWBERRY, S.C. --- Nicola Handrick hit five three-pointers and finished with a game-high 19 points as Newberry College defeated Tusculum College 67-55 in a South Atlantic Conference Women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Eleazer Arena.
Meg Essex added 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Wolves (14-12, 13-7 SAC), who scored the final 10 points of the first half to break a tie, then went on an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to remain in a three-way tie for second place in the conference standings with two games left in the regular season.
Kasey Johnson led the Pioneers (12-11, 10-10 SAC) with 16 points while Shynese Whitener added 14 points and six rebounds. Tusculum continues to lead Lenoir-Rhyne by one game for the eighth and final spot in the SAC Women's Basketball Tournament heading into the final week of the season.
The Wolves shot 42.4 percent from the field (25-for-59) while holding the Pioneers to 37 percent (17-for-46) from the floor in the game. Tusculum went 20-for-22 from the foul line as a team, including a perfect 18-for-18 in the second half, but went just 1-for-4 from three-point range and committed 20 turnovers.
The first period featured five ties and three lead changes, the last coming on a three-pointer by Emily Perry that gave the Wolves a 13-11 lead with 2:11 to go in the quarter. Newberry led 15-12 after one period, but the Pioneers came back to tie the score at 20-20 on a jumper by Maelyn Head with 5:13 left in the first half.
From there, Tusculum would miss its final four shots from the field while committing four turnovers, as the Wolves ended the half with a 10-0 run that included three-pointers from Handreck and Perry. Newberry led 30-20 at the half as Handreck and Essex had eight points apiece for the Wolves, while Johnson paced the Pioneers with eight points on 4-for-8 shooting.
Newberry's lead grew to as many as 14 points in the third quarter before Tusculum was able to trim the margin to six on a pair of free throws by Whitener in the final minute of the period. Tusculum trailed 42-36 heading into the fourth quarter, and pulled within 44-40 on a jumper by Whitener with 8:10 left.
The Wolves answered with 11 straight points as Handreck hit three in a row from beyond the arc during the run, which gave Newberry a 55-40 lead with 5:26 left. Tusculum could only get as close as 10 points down the stretch as Newberry hit six straight foul shots in the final 1:14 to seal the victory.
Also scoring in double figures for the Pioneers was Sydney Wilson, who had 11 points thanks to a 6-for-6 effort from the foul line. Whitener finished the game 8-for-8 from the stripe, all coming in the second half. Head finished with three points but had a team-high seven rebounds for the Pioneers, while Jasmine Queen came off the bench to score seven points and pull three rebounds in 22 minutes.
Essex shared the team high in rebounds with Colleen Leung at eight apiece, while Samantha Creed had a game-high six assists. The Wolves finished the game with seven blocked shots, coming from seven different players.
Newberry had a 34-30 advantage in rebounding over Tusculum in the game, and forced the Pioneers into 20 turnovers while committing 16 of their own. However, Tusculum scored 19 points off the 16 Newberry turnovers while allowing just 11 points off their own.
Tusculum will travel to Mars Hill on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. for a key SAC matchup. Mars Hill is tied with Newberry and Wingate for second place in the league at 13-7, including an 80-70 victory at Pioneer Arena on Jan. 13.
- TC -
