ANDERSON, S.C. --- Heather Jankowy and Jennifer Monroe scored 18 points apiece to lead 19th-ranked Anderson University to a 72-52 victory over Tusculum College in South Atlantic Conference Women's basketball action Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
The SAC-leading Trojans (15-3, 13-2 SAC) led by as many as 29 points en route to their third straight victory overall and 10th consecutive over the Pioneers. Anderson shot 50 percent (26-for-52) from the field and held a 37-29 advantage in rebounding over Tusculum in the game.
Kasey Johnson paced the Pioneers (10-8, 8-7 SAC) with 16 points and eight rebounds and Shynese Whitener added 13 points and five boards for Tusculum, which shot 32.1 percent (17-for-53) from the field to see its three-game winning streak come to an end.
The Pioneers led 2-0 after a layup by Whitener on their first possession, and went ahead 4-2 on a putback by Johnson. A three-pointer by Johnson sent the Pioneers ahead 7-6 with 4:02 left in the opening quarter, but the Trojans answered with seven straight points to go on top 13-7 at the end of the period.
A three-pointer by Jankowy gave the Trojans their largest lead of the first half at 27-12 with 5:07 left in the second period, but a three-pointer from Johnson was part of a 9-2 run that helped the Pioneers pull within 29-21 at the half.
Johnson led the Pioneers with nine points and five rebounds in the first half, but Tusculum shot 21.4 percent (6-for-28) from the field as a team. Monroe paced the Trojans with 10 points in the opening half on 5-for-7 shooting, but Anderson was plagued with 14 turnovers in the half as a team.
In the second half, the Trojans scored the first eight points to go on top 37-21 following two free throws by Alexis Dillard with 7:51 remaining in the third period. A four-point play by Jankowy sparked a 9-2 run that she capped with three free throws that gave Anderson a 48-25 lead with 5:32 left in the quarter.
Another 8-0 spurt resulted in the largest lead of the game for the Trojans at 56-27 with 2:51 to play, but the Pioneers were able to reduce the margin to 58-36 entering the final stanza. The Trojans restored their lead back to 29 points with 5:52 remaining and went on to claim the victory and maintain their two-game lead over Newberry in the SAC standings with seven games left.
Whitener finished the game with seven steals, one shy of her career high, and moved within one of becoming the sixth player in program history to make 200 steals. Her 13 points increased her career total to 1,111, making her the 14th player in program history to surpass the 1,100-point plateau.
Maelyn Head, the reigning South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week, played 31 minutes for the Pioneers and finished with eight points and three rebounds. Kristen McMillion scored three points in 34 minutes, but added six rebounds and three steals.
Madison Floyd also reached double figures for Anderson, hitting three from three-point range and finishing with 11 points. Tamia Eatmon came off the bench to dish out a game-high seven assists while contributing four points and six rebounds, and Dillard had a team-high eight boards for the Trojans to go along with eight points and two blocked shots.
The Pioneers will be back on the road on Saturday afternoon at Lenoir-Rhyne. Tusculum won the first meeting between the teams by a 63-52 score at Pioneer Arena on December 16. Game time on Saturday is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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