HICKORY, N.C. --- Nikki Van Dine poured
in a career-high 26 points to lead the top-seeded Tusculum College
women's basketball team to an 85-70 win over No. 4 seed
Carson-Newman College in a semifinal match-up of the Food Lion
South Atlantic Conference Tournament. Van Dine established a SAC
Tournament record with eight 3-pointers, all coming in the first
half.
With the victory, the Pioneers (25-4) advance to the Sunday's SAC
Tournament Championship game against the winner of the Lenoir-Rhyne
University/Newberry College semifinal. It will be Tusculum's third
championship game appearance in the last four years as the Pioneers
will be in quest of their first SAC Tournament crown. Carson-Newman
falls to 19-10 overall and will await word Sunday night of a
possible at-large berth to the NCAA Division II Southeast
Regional.
Van Dine (Columbus, Ohio) scored 24 of her 26 markers in the
opening 20 minutes as she fired 8-for-11 from beyond the arc to
pace Tusculum (No. 13 in USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll) to a
49-32 lead at halftime.
TC's Jasmine Gunn (Nashville, Tenn.) added 23
points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Ashli
Oliver (Kokomo, Ind.), Shantae Shank
(Charlotte, N.C.) and Jasmine Parker (Rex, Ga.)
each contributed eight points in the Pioneers' fourth straight
win.
Tykira McDaniel (Griffin, Ga.) paced the Lady
Eagles with 16 points off the bench, while Angela
Volentine (North Platte, Neb.) contributed a double-double
with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Ashley Kyle
(Jefferson City, Tenn.) and Mandy Mendenhall
(Kingston Springs, Tenn.) added 13 and 12 points, respectively in
the loss.
Tusculum used a 12-2 run in the final three minutes of the first
half, including back-to-back three-pointers by Van Dine to take its
largest lead of the afternoon (49-32). Tusculum shot 44 percent
from the floor at the break, while limiting C-N to shoot 10-for-36
(27.8%), including 1-of-6 from long-range.
In the second half, Carson-Newman would capitalize on early foul
trouble for Tusculum's All-America forward Stephany
Neptune (Wallkill, N.Y.), who picked up third and
fourth fouls in the opening minutes of the period. C-N would trim
the deficit to 57-46 with 15:03 remaining following a three-point
play by Kyle. The Lady Eagles would cut the lead to single-digits
on a pair of Kyle free throws with 12:20 remaining.
Tusculum used a 6-0 run midway through the half as Shank canned a
bucket and Oliver converted a four-point play with 10:48 left as
the Pioneers led 69-54.
But Carson-Newman would later answer with seven straight points to
get the deficit back to within 10 points (71-61) with eight minutes
remaining on the clock. TC's Neptune also picked up her fifth foul
with 7:07 remaining. But Tusculum would not allow the Lady Eagles
to get within 10 for the remainder of the contest as Gunn would
score nine points down the stretch to seal the victory.
Carson-Newman dominated the glass, out-rebounding Tusculum by a
60-44 margin, including 27-15 on the offensive boards. C-N's 60
rebounds are tied for the second most in SAC Tournament history (TC
posted 64 rebounds against Lincoln Memorial University in
Wednesday's SAC Tournament quarterfinal).
Van Dine was limited to only a two-point basket in the second half
as she finished 9-for-14 from the field, including 8-of-11 in from
three-point territory.
Tusculum Kat Spears (Memphis, Tenn.) also added
five points, 11 rebounds a
Women's BASKETBALL ROLLS TO 85-70 WIN OVER CARSON-NEWMAN TO ADVANCE TO SAC TOURNAMENT FINAL
Posted: Mar 07, 2009