Shynese Whitener scored a career-high 23 points and Tusculum College shot a season-best 51 percent in an 80-75 victory over Coker College in South Atlantic Conference Women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Timberlake-Lawton Gymnasium.

The Pioneers (2-14, 2-10 SAC) put four players in double figures, reached a season high in points as a team and committed a season-low 12 turnovers to snap a five-game losing streak in their first-ever meeting with the Cobras. Maelyn Cutshaw and Blakeley Burleson had 15 points apiece and Nequoiah Anderson added 13 for Tusculum, which led by 13 points with five minutes left before surviving a late charge from Coker.

Tanesha Stenson led the Cobras (9-7, 7-5 SAC) with 19 points and nine rebounds but fouled out in the final minute. Coker also placed four players in double figures, but shot just 41.5 percent from the field overall and went 11-for-33 from three-point range in their third loss in four games.

Whitener went 9-for-15 from the field and 4-for-7 from the foul line to surpass her previous high of 22 points set against Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 15. The sophomore guard also had a career-high four steals and shot 9-for-15 from the field in the win over the Cobras.

Burleson scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half, including three three-pointers to help the Pioneers build a double-figure lead. Cutshaw had 15 points to go along with five rebounds and Anderson had 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in the victory. Kristen McMillion reached double figures in rebounds for the fourth straight game and 10th time this season as the SAC leader grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and scored eight points.

Tusculum built a 7-2 lead after three minutes but Coker came back to take its largest lead of the game at 21-16 following a free throw by Patricia Sullivan with 10:50 left in the first half. Trailing 25-24, the Pioneers went on a 12-2 run to go back on top 36-27 with 2:30 remaining in the half on back-to-back layups by Whitener.

A jumper by Cutshaw at the buzzer sent the Pioneers to the locker room with their largest lead to that point at 40-30. Whitener led all players with 10 points and Anderson added nine as the Pioneers went 13-for-28 (46.4 percent) from the field but 14-for-17 at the foul line as a team. Heidrun Kristmundsdottir paced the Cobras with nine points and four rebounds in the half.

Burleson opened the second half by nailing three straight three-point attempts to help the Pioneers to a 51-40 lead with 15:24 to play. A 7-0 run by Coker cut the Tusculum lead to 54-49 following a three-pointer from Stenson with 12:39 remaining, but the Pioneers were able to build their advantage to 72-59 on a Whitener bucket with 4:59 left.

Coker trailed 74-64 with 3:41 left, but five straight missed shots by the Pioneers combined with back-to-back three-pointers from Hailey Yohn and Kelley Godbout saw the Tusculum advantage trimmed to 74-70 with 1:56 left. Cutshaw came through with a key basket with 58 seconds left to extend the Pioneer lead to six, then added two free throws with 38 seconds to play for a 78-70 Tusculum lead. A three-pointer from Godbout and two free throws by Priscilla Fenty pulled the Cobras within three with 16 seconds left, but Whitener clinched the win with two free throws.

Tusculum shot a sizzling 55.6 percent (15-for-27) from the field in the second half, including 4-for-7 from three-point range. Coker was 16-for-40 in the second half, and hit on eight of its 24 shots beyond the arc in the half. The Cobras outrebounded the Pioneers 27-13 in the second half, including 14 offensive boards.

Overall, Coker finished the game with a 43-28 edge on the boards, as Tusculum finished with a season-low five offensive rebounds. Kristmundsdottir shared the team lead with Stenson with nine rebounds for the Cobras, while Fenty had seven boards in 19 minutes off the bench. Kristmundsdottir had 13 points and a game-high five assists with Godbout and Yohn hitting three three-pointers each and tallying 11 points in the loss.

The Pioneers will be on the road Wednesday night at 6 p.m. when they travel across the mountain to visit Mars Hill in the first meeting of the year between the teams.