GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- McKell Oliverio scored a game-high 21 points to lead Queens University of Charlotte to a 60-45 victory over Tusculum College in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
Sarah Henson added 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Royals (4-11, 4-6 SAC), who shot an even 50 percent from the field (22-for-44) and outscored the Pioneers by a 32-8 margin in the paint.
Callie Patterson led the Pioneers (3-11, 2-8 SAC) with 14 points and five assists, while Kasey Johnson reached double figures for the sixth straight game with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Tusculum shot 25 percent (14-for-56) from the field and went just 5-for-20 from three-point range as they lost to the Royals for the first time in the last six meetings.
Oliverio went 4-for-7 from three-point range and scored 16 of her 21 points in the second half as the Royals built a 29-21 halftime lead, then went on an 11-1 run in the third quarter after the Pioneers had trimmed the deficit to two.
Patterson scored the first five points of the game on a steal and layup, followed by a three-pointer which gave Tusculum a 5-1 lead with 5:46 left in the first quarter. After turning the ball over on six of their first seven possessions, Oliverio hit a three-pointer to pull the Royals within 5-4 with 5:22 to play in the first quarter.
Maggie Stewart hit a layup to give the Royals their first lead of the day at 6-5, but a three-pointer by Benedicta Makakala and a layup from Sydney Wilson put Tusculum back on top 10-6 with 3:50 to play in the period. Back-to-back layups from Stewart and a late bucket from Cheyenne Logan gave Queens a 14-13 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Royals came out in the second quarter and scored eight of the first 10 points to take their largest lead to that point at 22-15 on a layup by Henson with 4:14 remaining in the period. The lead would grow to eight points behind Stewart, who went 4-for-4 from the field and scored a game-high nine points in the first half as Queens led 29-21 at intermission.
As a team, Queens shot 54.5 percent (12-for-22) in the opening half to overcome 12 turnovers, and outrebounded Tusculum by a 21-12 margin. Patterson led the Pioneers with seven points in the first half, but Tusculum shot 6-for-27 (22.2 percent) from the field and were outscored 20-4 in the paint.
Tusculum cut the deficit to 29-27 on a free throw by Johnson with 6:56 left in the third quarter, but the Royals scored 11 of the next 12 points to take a 40-28 lead. Oliverio scored six points during the run for the Royals, which was capped by a three-point play from Henson with 1:53 to go in the third. A three-pointer at the buzzer from Makakala cut the deficit to 40-31 entering the final quarter.
Patterson hit a jumper on the opening possession of the fourth quarter for the Pioneers to bring them within 40-33, but Oliverio responded with a three-pointer to push the lead back to 10. Tusculum would get no closer as Queens went 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final minute while the Pioneers missed their final four shot attempts.
Makakala finished with six points, six rebounds and a season-high seven steals for the Pioneers, including four in the third quarter. Maelyn Head added eight points in 26 minutes for the Pioneers, who went 12-for-16 from the foul line in the game.
For the Royals, Mendy McNeese came off the bench to grab 10 rebounds while scoring four points and dishing out five assists in 30 minutes of playing time. Logan had five points and five assists for the Royals, while Stewart finished with 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting in 18 minutes of action.
Queens finished with a 39-28 advantage in rebounding over Tusculum in the game. The Pioneers had 14 offensive rebounds which they converted into 10 second-chance points, while the Royals tallied nine points off 10 offensive boards.
Tusculum will be home on Wednesday night to face unbeaten Lincoln Memorial University, with tipoff from Pioneer Arena scheduled for 6 p.m.
