Tusculum College went on a 19-0 run in the first seven minutes,
shot a season-best 56 percent from the field and rolled to a 76-60
victory at Catawba College in a South Atlantic Conference Women's
basketball game from Goodman Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.
Kendal Baxter drilled six three-pointers and scored a game-high 20
points for the Pioneers (16-8, 10-6 SAC), who snapped a three-game
losing streak and defeated the Indians (16-8, 11-5 SAC) for the
12th straight time.
The loss dropped Catawba into a three-way tie atop the SAC
standings with Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate at 11-5, with Tusculum a
game back at 10-6. The Pioneers, who are the defending conference
regular-season and tournament champions, host Lenoir-Rhyne and Mars
Hill next week to close out their regular-season schedule.
The Pioneers placed four players in double figures, as Linda
Aughburns posted a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 12
rebounds, Alishia Mosley scored 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting off
the bench and Ashley Thurman dropped home a career-best 10 points
in 14 minutes.
Tusculum went 17-for-27 (63 percent) from the field, including
7-for-12 from three-point range, in the first half en route to a
23-point halftime lead. The Pioneers finished the game shooting a
season-best 56.3 percent (27-for-48) and went 9-for-17 from
three-point range.
Catawba was led by Dana Hicks, who finished with 18 points, a
team-high seven rebounds and a game-best six steals. As a team, the
Indians shot 33.8 percent (23-for-68) and lost the rebound battle
to Tusculum by a 39-31 margin.
"I'm very happy we got off to a great start. Our kids were ready
and played with a high level of confidence," said Pioneer head
coach Adell Harris. "When you've lost three games in a row, you
don't recognize how good it's going. I never looked at the score,
but I knew we were making shots. On defense, we denied the wing and
disrupted their rhythm."
Baxter, the Pioneers' leading scorer at 14.4 points per game
entering Saturday's action, had scored a total of 23 points during
Tusculum's three-game losing streak. However, she came out firing
on Saturday, hitting back-to-back three-pointers in the opening two
minutes.
Her second three gave Tusculum a 6-4 lead and kickstarted a 19-0
run that saw the Pioneers sprint to a 22-4 lead following a
three-pointer by April McCann just seven minutes into the first
half.
Despite being held scoreless for nearly seven minutes later in the
half, Tusculum only saw its lead diminish from 33-8 to 33-18. A
layup by Thurman with 2:51 left in the first half broke the drought
and helped the Pioneers end the first half on an 11-3 run to go to
intermission with a 44-21 lead.
Baxter led all players with 14 points in the first half, while Dana
Hicks led the way for the Indians with eight points on 4-for-6
shooting in the opening 20 minutes.
Two free throws by Dana Hicks allowed Catawba to trim the margin to
19 at 44-25 with 17:40 remaining, but Tusculum responded with a
13-2 run to take its biggest lead of the day at 57-27 following a
jumper by Mosley with 14:38 to go. The Pioneers led 71-42 with 6:10
to play, only to see the Indians close the game on an 18-5 run.
Staci Hicks just missed a double-double for the Pioneers, finishing
with nine points and 10 rebounds, and McCann added nine points,
seven rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes. Jama Hammontree
returned to the starting lineup for the Pioneers after missing
three games with facial injuries suffered in a collision against
Brevard two weeks ago, and went scoreless in 17 minutes.
The Pioneers will host SAC co-leader Lenoir-Rhyne Wednesday night
at 6 p.m. at Pioneer Arena to open the final week of the regular
season. Tusculum defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 68-65 in the teams' first
meeting on January 25 in Hickory, N.C.
Early 19-0 run keys Pioneers? 76-60 win at Catawba
Posted: Feb 18, 2012
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