GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Shynese Whitener scored 19 points in her Tusculum College finale as the Pioneers rallied to a 65-57 victory over Queens University of Charlotte Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena on Senior Day.
With the victory, the Pioneers (13-12, 11-11 SAC)) secure a winning campaign for first-year head coach Devan Carter, who was named the permanent TC skipper after serving as interim coach for most of the season.
But the win was bitter-sweet as it marked the end of an exciting season and the close of three college playing careers.
Entering today's action, Tusculum was in a tie for eighth place in the league with Lenoir-Rhyne University and the final spot in next week's South Atlantic Conference Basketball Tournament. TC came away with the win over the Royals, but Lenoir-Rhyne also answered with a home victory over Mars Hill University as the Pioneers and Bears finished with identical 11-11 league records.
TC and L-R split its two regular-season meetings against each other. But L-R came out on top in the second round of tie-breakers. Both teams went 0-2 against No. 1 seed Anderson University, but L-R went 1-1 against second-seeded Newberry College, while TC went 0-2 against the Wolves.
Whitener connected on three 3-pointers and dished out four assists and two steals in her collegiate finale. Freshman Kasey Johnson added 13 points and six boards, while junior Maelyn Head and freshman Sydney Wilson contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively. Head led TC with her career-high nine rebounds, while also dishing out a season-high five assists.
The Royals were sparked by McKell Oliverio's 21 points, while Carmen Richardson and Sheridan Pressley finished with 12 points each. QUC's Maggie Stewart added seven points and a game-high 14 boards in the loss.
Tusculum rallied from a 10-point first quarter deficit and trailed 33-24 early in third period. TC outscored Queens 20-9 in the third period, including a 20-3 run.
Tusculum pushed the lead out to double digits in the fourth quarter, including a pair of 17-point leads to put the contest out of reach and complete the season-sweep over the Royals (5-22, 3-19 SAC) and its fourth consecutive win over QUC.
Both teams shot 40 percent from the floor, while Queens held a 37-32 advantage on the glass. Tusculum forced 12 turnovers, while committing a season-low five miscues themselves.
Whitener, a candidate for SAC Player of the Year, ends her career with 1,221 points, which are the 13th-most on the Tusculum all-time scoring list. Whitener's 18.1 points per game average this year is tops in the conference, while her 79 steals are also the best in the SAC.
Her 214 career steals are tied for fourth in the TC record book, while her 480 career field goals (9th in TC history), 1,215 field goal attempts (6th in TC history), 287 assists (9th in TC history) and .787 free throw percentage (9th in TC history) are all ranked in the Tusculum top-10.
Senior Kristen McMillion wraps up her TC career as one of the finest rebounders in program history. She posted six boards on Saturday, giving her 892 career rebounds, which are fourth in TC history. She is also fifth all-time in rebounding average (8.5 rpg) and her 103 career blocked shots are sixth in the Tusculum record book. She also finishes her career with 585 poitns and 156 steals.
Senior Michala Hash played in her 29th career outing, while making her second collegiate start. She finished the game with two points and a pair of assists in her 10 minutes of action.
Tusculum has clinched its ninth winning season in the last 11 years.
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