NEWBERRY, S.C. --- Newberry College used a late third-quarter run to take the lead for good and defeat Tusculum University 52-45 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Eleazer Arena.
Courtney Virgo hit four three-pointers and finished with a game-high 18 points and Ericka Wiseley added a season-best 17 points for the Wolves (8-13, 8-10 SAC), who won their fifth straight home game and snapped a three-game home losing streak to the Pioneers by holding Tusculum to 27.9 percent (17-for-61) from the field and 5-for-31 from three-point range in the game.
Jalia Arnwine led the Pioneers (7-14, 5-12 SAC) with 15 points and Mya Belton added 11 points, nine rebounds and a season-high four steals, but Tusculum went scoreless for four minutes spanning the third and fourth quarters as Newberry went on an 8-0 run to turn a 35-33 deficit into a 41-35 lead. The Pioneers forced the Wolves into 21 turnovers, but converted the miscues into just 14 points in a game that featured five ties and 12 lead changes.
Virgo was 4-for-7 from three-point range and grabbed eight rebounds for Newberry, which outrebounded Tusculum 40-35 in the game. Giulia Bongiorno led all players with 10 rebounds for the Wolves and contributed six points in 35 minutes. Wiseley shot 7-for-9 from the field and had four rebounds and two blocks in 24 minutes for Newberry.
The Wolves scored on their first possession on a three-pointer by Virgo, as Tusculum missed its first four shots before a putback by Belton cut the Newberry lead to 3-2 with 8:24 left in the first quarter. The Pioneers went scoreless for nearly four minutes but still trailed just 9-6 after two free throws from Arnwine with 4:20 to go in the period, as the Wolves went nearly five minutes without a point. Tusculum tied the game at 9-9 on a three from Belton with three minutes remaining, and Tusculum went up 12-11 after one as Chloe Warrington hit a three-pointer in the final 30 seconds of the period.
Tusculum went up 14-11 on a basket by Jordan Rogers in the opening minute of the season quarter, and held an 18-16 lead on a three-point play by Arnwine with 6:42 remaining in the half. The teams would go scoreless for nearly four minutes before a jumper from Brianna Dixon gave Tusculum a 20-16 lead with 3:56 to go. The Wolves were held without a point for nearly 5 1/2 minutes, going 0-for-4 from the field with five turnovers until a Wiseley layup with 2:06 left sparked a 6-0 run that was capped by a Wiseley layup with 30 seconds left to tie the score at 22-22. Arnwine hit two free throws with 16 seconds to play to send the Pioneers to intermission with a 24-22 lead.
Arnwine and Belton shared the team lead in scoring for the Pioneers in the first half with seven points apiece, with Belton grabbing a game-high six rebounds. Tusculum shot 25.0 percent (8-for-32) from the field and went 2-for-16 on three-pointers in the half. Wiseley was the top scorer for Newberry in the first half with nine points, with six points and five boards from Virgo as the Wolves shot 30.4 percent (7-for-23) from the field in the half.
Virgo put the Wolves in front 25-24 by hitting a three in the opening minute of the third quarter, and the teams would exchange the lead six times over the next four minutes. Newberry held a 33-32 advantage following a layup by Arnwine with 3:40 left in the quarter, but Tusculum would gain back the lead for the final time at 35-33 on a three-pointer from Arnwine with 1:59 remaining in the period. The Wolves responded with six unanswered points, including back-to-back buckets from Bongiorno and Wiseley, to take a 39-35 lead into the final frame.
A basket from Virgo on the opening possession of the fourth quarter gave the Wolves a 41-35 lead, and Tusculum snapped its scoreless drought at just over four minutes on a layup from Alyssa Walker with 7:50 left. Tusculum would then go 3 1/2 minutes without a point as the Wolves held a 43-37 lead, and a Dixon jumper was answered by a Virgo three for a 46-39 Wolves advantage with 3:44 left. The Pioneers would miss five of their final seven shot attempts, with three-pointers from Arnwine with 1:59 left and Warrington with under five seconds to play providing the only points for Tusculum in the last four minutes.
Arnwine's 15 points boosted her from 20th to 17th on the Tusculum career scoring list at 1,064 points, passing Chassity Martin (1,053 from 2003-07), Sydney Wilson (1,057 from 2015-20) and Stephany Neptune (1,061 from 2005-09) on the list. Arnwine also increased her career three-point total to 195, five shy of becoming the third player in program history to make 200 career threes.
Warrington was 2-for-5 on three-pointers in 12 minutes for the Pioneers, while Rogers had three points, three rebounds and a pair of steals in 20 minutes. Both teams received nine points from their bench, with Newberry led by Ella Pearson with five points in 22 minutes.
Sophie Henry tied her career high with six rebounds for the Pioneers while playing all 40 minute, and added two points, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot while committing just one turnover. Dixon had six points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals but fouled out after playing 30 minutes for Tusculum.
The Pioneers will prepare for back-to-back games with Mars Hill, starting Monday, Feb. 7 at Mars Hill in a makeup of a game rescheduled from Jan 12. The Lions (1-18, 1-16 SAC) fell 87-52 at Wingate on Saturday for their 10th consecutive loss.
