GREENEVILLE, Tenn.-  The Newberry College women’s basketball team defeated Tusculum College 61-48 in SAC play, on Saturday afternoon.

Newberry got on the board first with a 3-pointer from Nicola Handreck at the 8:40 mark. Tusculum answered quickly with a layup from Kasey Johnson 20 second later. By the 4:22 mark Newberry had a 9-6 lead, with two baskets from Handreck and one from Hannah Lepaio. Handreck hit a jumper with 5:42 left, followed by a layup from Lepaio off a pass from Jaya Schultz. Handreck made a layup at 4:22 with the assist going to Samara Hill.

The last shot Newberry made for the quarter was from Brandi Hall at the 1:27 mark. Going into the second quarter Tusculum had a 14-11 lead.

Meg Essex got on the board with a jumper in the paint with 7:55 left until halftime. Less than a minute later (7:20) Essex made a layup off a pass from Kirsten Dunsmore. At the 6:31 mark, roles were reversed when Dunsmore made a layup off a pass from Essex to take a 17-16 lead.

For the rest of the quarter Newberry increased its lead by scoring seven more points. Handreck made a layup at 5:54 followed by Dunsmore who went 1-for-1 at the line. The last two baskets from Newberry came from Essex and Lepaio at the 4:45 and 1:28 mark, respectively.

Going into the third quarter Newberry led 24-21 with Handreck leading the team with nine points. Essex scored six followed by Lepaio who scored four points. Dunsmore led the team in rebounds with six and Hill led the team in assists with five.

At 8:25 in the third quarter Dunsmore went 1-for-1 at the line followed by Essex who also went 1-for-1 with 6:09 left. Hill got on the board at the 4:22 mark with a jumper off a pass from Lepaio. Samantha Creed gave Newberry a five point lead with a 3-pointer at the 3:40 mark. Schultz scored a three point play at 2:15 with a fast break layup and a free throw. Creed went 2-for-2 with 1:48 left in the third quarter. Creed’s two free throws were the last two points for Newberry before the final quarter.

Essex started the final quarter off with a layup for Newberry at 8:48. A little over a minute later, Creed went 2-for-2 at the line for a 43-35 lead over the Pioneers. Creed then scored a layup at the 6:30 mark off a pass from Handreck. The Wolves increased their lead to 14 points when Schultz hit a layup with 2:50 left in the game. Handreck finished the game for Newberry with a pair of free throws with 1:19 left.

For the game, Handreck finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Essex scored 13 points and grabbed six boards. Dunsmore finished with 10 rebounds, four assists and four points.

The Wolves are on the road again on Wednesday, January 13 against Coker. The game will begin at 6 p.m.