NEWBERRY, S.C. --- Newberry College scored the game's first 15 points and went on to a 71-56 victory over Tusculum College in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Sunday afternoon at Eleazer Arena.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Wolves (8-4, 4-4 SAC), who defeated the Pioneers for the sixth consecutive meeting overall and ninth straight time at home. Samara Hill led the way for Newberry with 16 points while Nicola Handreck (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Jaya Schultz (13 points, 10 rebounds) each had a double-double.
Callie Patterson led the Pioneers and matched her career high with 17 points while Kasey Johnson had 14 points and eight rebounds for Tusculum (2-10, 1-7 SAC), which outshot Newberry 40.0 percent to 39.6 percent but was outrebounded by a 42-27 margin.
The Wolves benefitted from a 22-5 disparity in fouls called in the game, going 19-for-24 from the free-throw line while the Pioneers' only trip to the stripe accounted for their first point of the game.
Newberry opened the game by going 5-for-8 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers by Hill, and 3-for-3 at the foul line over the first 5 minutes, 12 seconds. Meanwhile, Tusculum went 0-for-9 from the floor before scoring their first point on a free throw by Patterson with 4:07 left in the first quarter. A three-pointer by Johnson gave the Pioneers their first field goal with 3:23 left in the quarter, after Newberry had taken an 18-1 lead.
Newberry led 34-14 on a three-pointer from Handreck with 3:52 left in the first half, but the Pioneers went on a 10-1 run, featuring three-pointers from Patterson and Johnson, to pull within 35-24 with 1:45 left in the second quarter.
Tusculum trailed 38-27 at the half as Handreck led all players with 12 points and seven rebounds for Newberry. Patterson and Johnson paced the Pioneers with eight points apiece, but Tusculum shot 34.4 percent (11-for-32) from the field while Newberry was 8-for-12 on three-pointers in the first half.
Newberry's lead see-sawed between 11 and 15 points for most of the third quarter until a three-pointer by Handreck gave the Wolves a 51-33 lead with 1:20 left in the period. Newberry led 52-36 at the start of the fourth quarter, but a basket by Johnson and a three-pointer by Patterson pulled the Pioneers within 52-41 with 8:19 left. But Newberry was able to build its lead back to 17 and put the game away at the foul line by going 7-for-8 in the final 2 1/2 minutes.
Patterson finished 7-for-15 from the field, including 2-for-5 from three-point range, to equal her career high of 17 points set against King on Nov. 14, 2015. In addition to her 14 points and eight rebounds, Johnson set a season high with four assists and also blocked a pair of shots.
Benedicta Makakala came off the bench for the first time this season for the Pioneers and contributed seven points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals in 33 minutes of action. Sydney Wilson also had seven points for the Pioneers, while Jasmine Queen tallied five points and seven rebounds to go along with a pair of steals.
Also reaching double figures for Newberry were Meg Essex, with 14 points and eight rebounds, and Shelby Britten who had 11 points and a game-high nine assists. The Newberry starters accounted for 69 of their 71 points in the game, with Hannah Lepaio scoring the only basket off the Wolves' bench.
Both teams protected the basketball in the game, with Tusculum committing 12 turnovers and Newberry 14. The Pioneers were able to score 17 points off the Wolves' turnovers, while Newberry had just eight points off the Tusculum miscues.
