Ashley Thurman scored a career-high 16 points and Tusculum College erased a 12-point first-half deficit to defeat Johnson C. Smith University 52-44 in non-conference Women's basketball action Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.

April McCann added a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds and Breaira Barksdale scored all 12 of her points in the second half for the Pioneers (7-2), who outscored the Golden Bulls (4-6) 36-20 in the second half to erase a 24-16 halftime deficit.

Brittany Dorsett led Johnson C. Smith with 16 points, but the Golden Bulls shot just 26.9 percent (14-for-52) from the field and were outrebounded 45-33 by the Pioneers. Karnina Bunch also reached double figures for the Golden Bulls, scoring 11 points in 24 minutes off the bench, and LaKendra Wilkerson added seven points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Thurman surpassed her previous career high of 10 points set last February 18 against Catawba by going 8-for-10 from the field in a career-best 28 minutes of playing time. She also added five rebounds and blocked a shot in the contest for Tusculum.

Barksdale shot 6-for-11 from the field in the second half, including what turned out to be the go-ahead basket with 5:02 remaining that broke a 40-40 tie. She also dished out a game-high five assists and came up with two steals in 37 minutes of action for the Pioneers.

McCann notched her second double-double of the season and fourth of her career in the win for the Pioneers, and also set a career high with three blocked shots. Leading scorer Kendal Baxter was held without a point for Tusculum, but established a new personal best with seven rebounds.

The Golden Bulls used an early 13-2 run to take a 20-8 lead on a basket by Dorsett with 9:19 left in the first half. Tusculum's defense clamped down on Johnson C. Smith from there, holding it to four points the rest of the half while cutting the margin to 24-16 at intermission.

Dorsett led all players with 12 points in the first half, including a pair of three-pointers, as the Golden Bulls were 4-for-5 from long range in the half. Thurman made all four of her field-goal attempts and led the Pioneers with eight points in the first half, but Tusculum combined to shoot 26.7 percent as a team (8-for-30) and misfired on all 10 of its three-pointers.

Tusculum scored the first seven points of the second half to cut the Johnson C. Smith lead to 24-23 just 90 seconds into the half, and the Pioneers grabbed their first lead of the night at 27-26 on a fast-break layup by Barksdale with 16:25 to go.

The Pioneers built their lead to eight points at 40-32 on a jumper in the lane by Alishia Mosley with 8:49 remaining, but the Golden Bulls answered with eight straight points to tie the game at 40-40 on two foul shots by Wilkerson with 5:11 remaining.

Barksdale's basket on the Pioneers' next possession sparked a 6-0 run that gave Tusculum a 46-40 lead with 3:46 remaining, and Johnson C. Smith would get no closer than four points the rest of the way. A basket by Dorsett with 3:28 left would be the final field goal of the night for the Golden Bulls, who missed their final four shots.

Tusculum controlled the game in the paint, outscoring Johnson C. Smith by a 44-16 margin. Both teams were able to protect the basketball, finishing the contest with 13 turnovers apiece. The Pioneers ended the night just 1-for-16 from three-point range while the Golden Bulls missed 10 of their 11 attempts in the second half and finished 5-for-16 from beyond the arc.

Mosley and Jama Hammontree finished with six points apiece for the Pioneers, with Hammontree adding six rebounds in 33 minutes of action. Blakeley Burleson had a strong performance off the Tusculum bench, playing 23 minutes against a trapping Johnson C. Smith defense without committing a turnover. She also scored a key fast-break layup to give the Pioneers a 48-42 lead with 2:34 left.

The Pioneers wrapped up the 2012 portion of their schedule with Wednesday's game, and concluded their non-conference slate with six wins in eight contests against foes from outside the South Atlantic Conference. Tusculum will return to action on Saturday, January 5 at Wingate for a 2 p.m. tipoff against the defending SAC champions.