GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Marta Miscenko scored 21 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked five shots as Wingate University defeated Tusculum College 73-48 in the South Atlantic Conference women's basketball opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
Four players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs (2-1, 1-0 SAC), who outscored the Pioneers 48-27 in the second half and finished the game with a commanding 47-19 advantage in rebounding. Shelby Tricoli and Danasia Witherspoon had 11 points and five rebounds apiece while Alex Tomlinson dished out a game-high nine assists for Wingate, which shot 48.1 percent (26-for-54) from the field as a team.
Tara Shields led the Pioneers (1-2, 0-1 SAC) with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting from three-point range, while Maelyn Head added 10 points and four rebounds. Tusculum shot 33.3 percent (16-for-48) overall from the field, but went 9-for-16 from three-point range in the contest.
An 11-0 run in the first quarter gave the Bulldogs the lead for good, although the Pioneers trailed 25-21 at halftime. Wingate then outscored Tusculum 27-14 in the third quarter and 21-13 in the fourth to pull away, helped by margins of 38-12 on points in the paint and 26-3 on second-chance points.
Tusculum took an early 6-2 lead on three-pointers by Shields and Benedicta Makakala, but a three-pointer by Tomlinson was part of a run of 11 straight points that gave Wingate a 13-6 lead with 1:22 left in the first quarter. A putback by Zasha Barrett just before the buzzer sent the Bulldogs to the second quarter with a 15-11 lead.
A three-pointer from the Pioneers' Callie Patterson brought Tusculum within 17-14 with 8:46 left in the first half, but the Bulldogs went on an 8-2 run to take a 25-16 lead on a layup by Miscenko with 3:21 to play in the half. Tusculum would score the final five points of the half on a three-pointer by Shields and a layup by Regan Croff to trail 25-21 at halftime.
Miscenko led all players with eight points and six rebounds in the first half, while Patterson and Shields shared the team high for Tusculum with six points apiece. The Pioneers were 7-for-21 from the field in the half, while the Bulldogs shot 42.9 percent (12-for-28) and did not attempt a foul shot.
Another three-pointer by Makakala brought the Pioneers within 29-27 with 7:24 left in the third quarter, but the Pioneers would get no closer as Wingate reeled off eight straight points to go on top 37-27 on a basket by Caroline Averette with 5:31 to play in the third quarter. Averette would hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute of the period to send the Bulldogs to the final 10 minutes with a 52-35 lead.
Tusculum cut the margin to 12 at 52-40 thanks to a three-pointer by Head and a steal and layup by Croff in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, but Wingate answered with 15 straight points to take a 67-40 lead with 3:40 left.
Makakala finished with eight points, four rebounds and two steals for the Pioneers, while Patterson had six points and a pair of rebounds. Freshman Kahliya Murry saw her first playing time of the season for Tusculum and turned in a solid performance with two points, two rebounds and three blocked shots in 15 minutes of action.
Averette also finished in double figures for the Bulldogs with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting, with Kristina Rumplasch adding eight points, three rebounds and a pair of assists in 16 minutes off the bench. As a team, Wingate went 16-for-20 from the foul line while Tusculum was 7-for-12 at the stripe.
The Pioneers will head to Brevard for a SAC contest with the Tornados on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m.
