BREVARD, N.C. --- Brevard College let a 16-point lead slip away, but used a 9-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to defeat Tusculum College 74-67 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Tuesday night at Boshamer Gymnasium.
Lynsey Crisp and Madison Lenox shared the game high with 20 points apiece for the Tornados (2-0, 1-0 SAC), who shot 12-for-24 (50 percent) from three-point range while holding the Pioneers (1-3, 0-2 SAC) to 36.9 percent (24-for-65) from the field in the contest. Crisp was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range and added a game-high 11 rebounds in the win for Brevard.
Morgan Depew finished with a career-high 20 points off the bench for the Pioneers, while Benedicta Makakala had career highs of 11 points and nine rebounds to go along with six steals. Maelyn Head added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Pioneers, who trailed 33-17 midway through the second quarter before fighting back to tie the score at 46-46 in the third quarter.
Depew shot 6-for-9 from the field, including a three-pointer, and went 7-for-12 from the foul line for the Pioneers as she reached double figures for the first time in her career. Tusculum's bench outscored Brevard's reserves by a margin of 33-1.
Tusculum took its only lead of the game on the opening possession as Jasmine Queen hit a free throw 13 seconds into the first quarter. Brevard responded with consecutive three-pointers by Annalee Bollinger, Jade Napier and Kelsie Rhyne to go on top 9-1 with 7:52 left in the opening period.
The Tornados would build their lead to 11-1 until Queen broke the run with a layup with 4:45 to play in the first quarter. Brevard would lead by as many as 15 points before carrying a 22-9 lead into the second quarter.
Tusculum cut the margin to 22-14 on a three-pointer by Depew with 8:33 left in the first half, but Crisp hit back-to-back three-pointers as part of an 8-0 run that gave Brevard its largest lead at 30-14 with 6:28 to go in the half. Crisp (11 points) and Lenox (6 points) accounted for all of Brevard's scoring in the second quarter, but Tusculum was able to trim the margin to 39-34 on a Kahliya Murry putback in the closing seconds.
Crisp led Brevard with 13 points and seven rebounds in the first half, while Lenox had 11 points as the Tornados shot 40.7 percent (11-for-27) from the field and 7-for-14 from beyond the arc. Depew was the top scorer in the first half for Tusculum with six points, with five points apiece from Makakala and Head. The Pioneers shot 43.3 percent (13-for-30) from the field and went 3-for-5 from long range in the half.
Tusculum cut the Brevard lead to 41-39 on a free throw by Head with 8:14 left in the third quarter, but a three-pointer by Rhyne pushed the Tornados lead to 46-41 with 5:30 left. A steal and layup by Callie Patterson allowed the Pioneers to pull within 46-44 with 4:42 remaining in the third quarter, and a steal and layup by Makakala tied the game at 46-46 with 4:05 left.
However, the Pioneers would miss their final five shots of the quarter as a layup by Crisp, two free throws from Napier and a three-pointer by Bollinger sent the Tornados to the fourth quarter with a 53-46 advantage.
The Tusculum drought would reach six minutes before a Depew layup stopped the 9-0 Brevard run and cut the margin to 55-48 with 7:52 remaining. A three-point play by Lenox put the Tornados back in front by double figures at 58-48 with 6:59 left, and the lead would grow back to 15 points at 64-49 on a foul shot by Napier with 3:45 to go.
The Pioneers started a comeback at the foul line, as Head hit four free throws and Depew two to cut the margin to 64-55 with 2:47 left. A three-point play by Tara Shields brought the Pioneers within 64-58 with 2:34 to go, but three-pointers from Bollinger and Crisp in the final two minutes thwarted the Pioneers after they had twice cut the margin to five points. Depew scored the final nine points for the Pioneers over the last 2 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter.
Shields finished with seven points for the Pioneers, while fellow freshman Murry had six points, two rebounds and a blocked shot in 10 minutes off the bench. Patterson also contributed off the bench for Tusculum with five points, three rebounds and a pair of steals in 19 minutes of action.
Brevard had a slight 38-37 edge in rebounding over Tusculum, but 14 of the Pioneers' rebounds came on the offensive glass. The Tornados also turned the ball over 19 times, which led to 22 points by the Pioneers, while Tusculum had 11 turnovers that Brevard converted into nine points.
Bollinger was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range for the Tornados and joined Crisp and Lenox in double figures with 18 points, while adding seven rebounds and four assists. Napier had seven points and six rebounds for Brevard, while Kyley Clark had six boards in 21 minutes off the bench.
Tusculum will step out of conference play on Saturday afternoon when Virginia-Wise visits Pioneer Arena for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
