Greeneville, Tenn. - The Newberry women's basketball team (16-8, 12-8 SAC) won their seventh straight game vs. Tusculum (6-18, 5-15 SAC) defeating the Pioneers by a final of 73-57 on Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena. 

Kasey Johnson of Tusculum opened the scoring with a three-pointer before the Wolves responded with a 14-0 run and a 23-12 lead by the end of the quarter. 

The Pioneers clawed their way to within two points of the Wolves after Johnson nailed a three-pointer to make it a 41-39 game early in the third quarter, however, Newberry used its clutch shooting at the free throw line to deny any chance of a comeback, knocking down nine shots from the foul line in the last 11:14. The team finished the afternoon shooting 81 percent from the foul stripe. 

The Wolves shot a season-high 52.1 percent from the floor, nailing 25 of their 48 attempts. Newberry held Tusculum to 37 percent shooting, as the Pioneers relied heavily on the three-point line connecting on 11 of their 24 attempts. 

The Wolves move to 14-1 on the season when they hold their opponent to under 59 points. 

Meg Essex and Nicola Handreck each dropped 20 points for Newberry helping the Wolves to their fifth win in a row, their longest winning streak since starting the season 6-0. 

Essex was efficient in 28 minutes, shooting 7-of-10 from the floor and knocking down six of her seven free throw attempts. The sophomore center also grabbed five boards and dished out a season-high three assists. 

Handreck went 4-of-10 from downtown and 6-of-8 from the foul line in 29 minutes. She added five assists to put herself in sole possession of ninth place all-time in a Newberry uniform. The junior out of Heywood, Victoria, Australia currently has 263 career assists in 85 career games. 

Sophomore guard Shelby Britten tallied 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting putting at least three Wolves' starters in double figures for the 18th time this season. Britten also corralled six boards and added three assists.

Jaya Schultz led all Newberry players with 38 minutes. The senior held game-highs with nine rebounds and six assists to go along with her five points. 

Junior forward Hannah Lepaio added eight rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench. Newberry held a huge advantage on the boards in the win, outrebounding the Pioneers 43-19, the largest margin of the season for the Wolves.

With the win, Newberry head coach Sean Page is one win shy of 200 for his career.

Newberry will head to Hartsville on Wednesday, Feb. 22 to take on the Coker Cobras. Tip-off is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start.