INDIANAPOLIS --- All-American Jasmine Gunn is ranked eighth in scoring and the Tusculum College women's basketball team is listed in 15 individual and team categories in the final edition of the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Statistics, announced NCAA officials Tuesday.
Tusculum (23-10) posted its third straight 20-win season en route to the program's first appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, winning 14 of its last 17 to capture the school's first-ever Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament title and first NCAA Division II Southeast Region Tournament Championship.
The Pioneers sent one of the nation's top offensive units, ending the season ranked 14th in scoring offense (77.8) and 34th in field goal percentage (43.6). Tusculum is also listed 47th in won-lost percentage (69.7), 54th in blocked shots (3.8), 55th in scoring margin (8.2), 71st in rebound margin (3.1), and 86th in turnovers per game (17.4).
Gunn was a tremendous part of the Pioneers' success this season, garnering First Team All-America recognition in three separate programs as well as Daktronics Southeast Region Player of the Year and South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year honors. The 4-11 point guard posted five 30-point games this season, scoring at least 20 markers on 19 occasions while being the only player in the NCAA Division II to rank in the top 40 in scoring, assists, and steals. She ends the season ranked eighth in scoring (21.6), 27th in steals (2.8), and 38th in assists (4.8), while jumping to 69th in field goal percentage (46.6).
Freshman Kendal Baxter posted a superb season in her first collegiate campaign, establishing a new program and SAC record with 105 three-pointers, which also eclipsed what is believed to be the NCAA Division II mark for triples by a freshman. The 5-5 Sevierville, Tenn. native ranked among the nation's top 10 three-point shooters for much of the season, concluding the campaign ranked seventh with an average of 3.3 triples per contest. Baxter also finished the season ranked 61st in three-point field goal percentage (37.1).
Junior Catherine Hintz emerged as a legitimate inside threat this season, ending the campaign ranked 50th in blocked shots (1.7) and 71st in rebounding (8.5) while averaging 10.6 points per game. Senior Kat Spears closed out her Pioneer career with a superb season, averaging 1.5 blocked shots per game (70th in NCAA II) to conclude her tenure at Tusculum second all-time in rejections (140), one shy of former teammate Stephany Neptune's program record.
Tusculum is expected to return four of their top five scorers from this season's Southeast Region Championship squad, including Gunn, the reigning SAC Player of the Year. The Pioneers closed out the season winning 14 of their last 17, including the program's first-ever Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament title and first-ever NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championship.
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