GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Blayre Shultz poured home 27 points and Tusculum University raced to a 32-point lead in the first half en route to a 78-42 victory over Newberry College in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.

Alyssa Walker and Jami Tham scored 10 points apiece, Mya Belton grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds and Deidre Cheremond added 11 points off the bench on Senior Day for the Pioneers (20-6, 11-5 SAC), who moved into first place in the SAC Mountain Division by a half-game over Carson-Newman after the Eagles lost 72-66 at Wingate on Saturday. Tusculum also clinched a home game in the SAC Championship quarterfinals which will be played Wednesday, March 1.

Tusculum led 25-5 after one quarter and 45-17 at halftime and held Newberry (8-18, 4-12 SAC) to 26.7 percent (16-for-60) from the field for the game. The Pioneers drilled 11 three-pointers, nine in the first half, and finished with a 45-39 rebound advantage over the Wolves. The Pioneers are now 12-0 when holding their opponents to 50 points or less.

Shultz shot 9-for-20 from the field and hit four three-pointers for her sixth 20-point game of the season and second in a row. Shultz was one off her career high of 28 set against Mars Hill on Jan. 7, and is averaging 21.0 points per game over her last four contests. She scored 18 of her points in the first half and added four assists and three steals in 35 minutes.

Walker, who netted 15 points in the Pioneers' 79-70 win over Carson-Newman on Wednesday, hit a pair of three-pointers and finished with 10 points in 24 minutes, while Cheremond had five rebounds to go along with her 11 points in 22 minutes off the Tusculum bench. Belton's 17 rebounds broke her previous career high of 15 set against Newberry on Dec. 15, 2021.

Tham, who tied the SAC single-season record for double-doubles with 24 in the win over Carson-Newman on Wednesday, had 10 points and nine rebounds with 9 1/2 minutes to play but was called for her fifth foul on the offensive end with 6:59 to play to keep her tied with Kayla Marosites of Carson-Newman (2019-20) for the SAC record with two regular-season games to play.

Ericka Wiseley posted a double-double for Newberry with 12 points and 11 rebounds, Tyla Stolberg had eight points and April Rummery-Lamb contributed six points and seven rebounds for the Wolves, who turned the ball over 21 times in falling to 0-15 away from Eleazer Arena this season.

A putback by Belton was answered by a basket from Wiseley that left the game tied at 2-2 after four minutes, but the Pioneers would go on a 20-1 run over the next 4 1/2 minutes to take control. Shultz had 10 points during the Tusculum run, including a pair of three-pointers, while Newberry missed 10 consecutive shots and scored its only point on a free throw from Stolberg with 3:47 left in the quarter. A three-pointer from Cheremond with 25 seconds left would give the Pioneers a 25-5 lead after one quarter, in which Tusculum shot 5-for-10 from three-point range while Newberry was 2-for-16 from the field.

A three-pointer from Belton was the only scoring for either team in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the second quarter, but two three-pointers from Shultz and one from Sophie Henry helped Tusculum to a 43-13 lead with 1:53 left in the half. Newberry would score the final four points of the quarter on baskets from Wiseley and Giulia Bongiorno, but Tusculum took a 45-17 lead to intermission.

Shultz was 4-for-6 from three-point range and led all players with 20 points in the first half, with eight points from Walker and seven from Cheremond. Tusculum shot 45.7 percent (16-for-35) from the field and an even 50 percent from beyond the arc (9-for-18), while Newberry was at 22.6 percent (7-for-31) from the field and 0-for-3 from long range. Wiseley led the Wolves with six points with five from Rummery-Lamb along with four rebounds.

Tusculum's lead would never drop below 27 points in the second half, with Tham scoring six points in the third quarter. The Pioneers were 0-for-6 from long range in the third quarter, but increased its lead slightly to 58-29 heading to the fourth.

In the fourth quarter, the Pioneers led by as many as 37 points at 66-29 on two free throws from Shultz with 6:40 to go. Tusculum's bench contributed in the final period, with three-pointers from Jenna Kallenberg and Carleigh Wilson to go along with a putback bucket from Averie Price.

Henry played 37 minutes for the Pioneers and had three points along with a game-high five assists. Bongiorno contributed seven points and three rebounds in 21 minutes for the Wolves.

The Pioneers, who have won 20 or more games in three of the last five seasons, will play their final two regular-season games on the road starting Wednesday at Anderson. The Trojans (14-12, 8-8 SAC) locked up the fourth seed out of the SAC Piedmont Division with a 75-65 win over Limestone on Saturday.