GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tanesha Stenson scored a season-high 33 points and Coker College shot nearly 58 percent from the field as the Cobras clinched the eighth and final berth in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament with a 79-68 victory over Tusculum College Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
Priscilla Fenty added 18 points and eight rebounds as the Cobras (12-14, 10-12 SAC) built a 20-point lead and held on to beat the Pioneers (8-18, 8-14 SAC) in a winner-take-all game for the final spot in next week's SAC Tournament. As a team, Coker shot 57.7 percent (30-for-52) from the field while holding Tusculum to 36.9 percent (24-for-65), including 4-for-28 from three-point range.
Kristen McMillion posted her eighth double-double of the season for the Pioneers with 19 points and 14 rebounds, finishing the season with 11.9 rebounds per game to rank in the top 10 in Division II and second all-time at Tusculum, trailing only the 12.4 rebounds per game registered by Pam York during the 1981-82 season. McMillion reached double figures in rebounds 19 times in 26 games and led the Pioneers on the boards 22 times this season.
Nequoiah Anderson added 18 points in her final career game for the Pioneers, just missing her fifth straight 20-point game. She averaged a team-high 14.9 points per game this season and was among the SAC leaders in both free throws made (128) and attempted (167) during the regular season.
Joining McMillion and Anderson in double figures for the Pioneers were Maelyn Cutshaw, with 18 points, and Shynese Whitener, with 10 points to go along with seven assists. After shooting 17.2 percent (5-for-29) as a team in the first half, the Pioneers shot 52.8 percent (19-for-36) in the second half on their way to carving a 20-point deficit down to seven in the final minute.
Stenson, the Cobras' leading scorer at 14.1 points per game entering the game, went 12-for-18 from the field, including four three-pointers, and added five free throws in eight attempts to surpass the 20-point mark for the eighth time this season. Fenty went 7-for-10 from the field and 4-for-4 at the line to just miss matching her season high of 19 points set against Queens on Jan. 8 and matched against Catawba on Feb. 17.
Tusculum was 1-14 overall and 1-10 in the SAC before an 80-75 win at Coker on Jan. 25 sparked a run of seven wins in nine games that left the Pioneers a game behind the Cobras heading into the final week of the season. Both teams lost on the road on Wednesday night, setting up a showdown in Greeneville for the eighth and final spot in the SAC Tournament. However, the Cobras scored the game's first eight points and never looked back on their way to locking up the berth in their first season in the conference.
The Pioneers trailed 8-0 until two free throws from Cutshaw got them on the board with 16:41 left in the first half. Tusculum tallied its first field goal after six misses when McMillion hit a jumper with 14:33 to play to cut the Coker lead to 11-7. Tusculum trailed 24-16 following a basket by Whitener with 6:17 remaining in the half, but she was forced to the bench after picking up her third foul with 4:00 to play until halftime. From there, Coker outscored Tusculum 10-5 to take a 39-23 lead to the break.
Fenty and Stenson shared the team lead with 10 points apiece in the first half for Coker, while McMillion, Cutshaw and Anderson had seven points each for the Pioneers. Tusculum shot 13-for-16 from the free-throw line in the first half, but misfired on all 12 of its three-point attempts as a team.
Stenson scored 11 points in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the second half, including a layup that gave Coker its largest lead of the game at 59-39 with 12:22 to play. Tusculum, which had erased five double-digit deficits this season, rallied to within eight at 66-58 on a layup by Whitener with 3:44 left. However, the teams began exchanging baskets as Stenson hit three straight shots to keep Coker out in front, including a bucket with 1:14 left to give the Cobras a 75-65 lead. Despite missing three free throws in the final minute, the Cobras kept their lead as the Pioneers misfired on a pair of three-point attempts.
With the win, Coker will play at Lenoir-Rhyne in the quarterfinal round of the Food Lion SAC Tournament on Wednesday night. The teams met this past Wednesday night in Hickory, with the Cobras leading for much of the game before the Bears rallied for a 48-41 win and a sweep of the season series.
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