Catawba College shot 50.7 percent from the field and defeated Tusculum College 81-71 in South Atlantic Conference Women's basketball action at Goodman Gym Saturday afternoon.

Chloe Bully had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Indians (5-3, 4-1 SAC), who connected on 36 of their 71 field-goal attempts to offset struggles at the foul line. Mallary Clay added 13 points and eight rebounds as the Indians took over the lead less than three minutes into the game and held it the rest of the way.

Shynese Whitener finished with a career-high 20 points for the Pioneers, while Nequoiah Anderson matched her career high with 20 points. Kristen McMillion set career highs with 13 points, 17 rebounds and five steals, but Tusculum (0-8, 0-5 SAC) shot 41.9 percent from the field and committed 26 turnovers in the loss.

The Indians took control with a 15-2 run over a span of 3 1/2 minutes early in the first half, and responded with a 10-3 spurt in the second half after the Pioneers cut the deficit from 12 to four. Catawba led by as many as 16 points in the second half, and the Indians held on despite shooting 1-for-7 from the foul line in the second half and 6-for-14 overall.

Whitener went 9-for-15 from the field to surpass her previous career high of 16 points set in the season opener against Chowan and matched two weeks ago at Clayton State. Anderson's 20-point effort, which included a pair of three-pointers, equaled her personal best set on two previous occasions.

McMillion's double-double was her second in a row and third of the season, and enabled her to pass her personal bests of 10 points and 13 rebounds. Nine of McMillion's 17 rebounds were on the offensive glass, and her five steals were the most for a Tusculum player this season. Brianna Mitchell matched her season high for Tusculum with 11 points, giving the Pioneers four players in double figures in the game.

Four players also reached double figures for Catawba, as Antionette McPhail had 12 points and five rebounds and Zhaquondalee Greer had 10 points in 16 minutes off the bench for the Indians. As a group, the Catawba bench outscored the Tusculum reserves by a 22-5 margin.

The Pioneers jumped to an early 7-4 lead thanks to two baskets from Mitchell and one from Blakeley Burleson, but the Indians ran off 18 of the next 20 points to go up 22-9 with 13:09 left in the first half. Clay had six points and Bully added five during the run for Catawba.

Tusculum cut the deficit down to seven points on two occasions, but the teams went to the locker room with Catawba holding a 43-35 lead. Bully had a game-high 13 points to lead Catawba while Whitener paced Tusculum with 12 points in the first half. Both teams shot just over 48 percent in the half and the Indians had a slim 20-19 edge on the glass.

Catawba led 48-37 less than two minutes into the second half, but the Pioneers went on a mini 8-1 run to cut the margin to 49-45 on a basket by Mitchell with 15:17 to play. However, a jumper by McMillion would be the only field goal for Tusculum in a 5 1/2 minute span as the Indians built a 63-49 lead with 9:01 remaining.

Greer and Jada Huntley each had eight points off the bench in the second half for the Indians, while McMillion nearly had a double-double after halftime alone as she registered 10 points and nine rebounds. The difference came in second-half shooting, as the Indians improved to 53 percent while the Pioneers slumped off to 36.4 percent.

Catawba finished the game with a slender 43-42 advantage in rebounding over Tusculum. Sixteen of the Pioneers' 42 boards came on the offensive end, which were converted into 14 points. Both teams struggled to control the basketball, as the Pioneers had 26 turnovers and the Indians had 24 miscues.

The Pioneers will play their final game of the calendar year on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Pioneer Arena in a non-conference matchup with King University.