GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Aliyah Miller scored a game-high 23 points and Tusculum University used an 18-3 run midway through the second half to take command as the Pioneers opened their 2020-21 season with a 63-52 victory over Wingate University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday at Pioneer Arena.

Maddie Sutton added 15 points and 11 rebounds and Jalia Arnwine chipped in with 14 points for the defending SAC Tournament champion Pioneers (1-0 overall, 1-0 SAC), who held the Bulldogs to 32.2 percent shooting (19-for-59) from the field in winning their season opener for the fourth straight year. Arnwine and Miller each hit three three-pointers for the Pioneers, who shot 8-for-16 from beyond the arc while the Bulldogs connected on just 2-for-16 from long range.

Haleigh Hatfield led the Bulldogs (0-1, 0-1 SAC) with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, but shot just 2-for-12 from the field. Hannah Clark added 12 points for Wingate, which led briefly in the first quarter before trailing by as many as 20 points in the fourth. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 14 times which led to 17 points for the Pioneers in the contest, as Tusculum gave head coach Meagan Price a victory in her Pioneer debut on the sidelines.

Miller shot 10-for-18 from the field to fall just shy of her career high of 25 points set against Mars Hill on January 8 of last season. Sutton's double-double was the ninth of her career, as she scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half. Arnwine's first three-pointer of the game came early in the third quarter and was the 100th of her career, as well as the 21st consecutive game in which she has connected from beyond the arc.

Marta Rodrigues was scoreless for the Pioneers in 36 minutes of playing time, but filled the scoresheet as she set a career high with nine assists and matched her career best with eight rebounds. Brianna Dixon added five points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals for the Pioneers, who outrebounded the Bulldogs by a slim 42-41 margin.

Wingate scored the game's opening basket on a layup by Clark, while Tusculum missed its first three shots until Miller hit a three to give the Pioneers what would be the lead for good at 3-2 with 8:20 left in the first quarter. The Pioneers would hold the Bulldogs without a field goal for more than five minutes as a three-pointer from Jordan Rogers extended Tusculum's advantage to 10-3 with 4:34 left in the quarter. Tusculum led 14-11 after one quarter as Miller led all players with nine points on 4-for-8 shooting in the period.

Neither team would score for the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second quarter until a basket from Miller extended Tusculum's lead to 16-11. The Pioneers would go up by as many as six points before buckets from Daphney Saylor and Clark brought the Bulldogs to within 21-19 with 3:53 to go in the half. Two baskets from Sutton would help Tusculum to a 27-21 lead at intermission.

The Pioneers shot 27.8 percent (10-for-36) from the field in the first half, including 2-for-7 from three-point range. Miller had a game-high 13 points in the half for Tusculum on 6-for-10 shooting, while Sutton had eight rebounds and Rodrigues added seven boards. Wingate was just 8-for-30 (26.7 percent) from the field and missed all eight of its three-point attempts in the half, with Clark leading the way on offense with seven points and Hatfield on the boards with eight.

A three-pointer from Hatfield and a layup from Maeola Willis brought the Bulldogs within a point at 27-26 early in the third quarter, and the Tusculum lead was just 32-29 midway through the period after a basket from Wingate's Jaia Wilson. Wingate would then miss its next three shots and turn the ball over three times, while Tusculum used three-pointers from Miller and Arnwine as part of a 12-0 run that pushed the Pioneers ahead 44-29 with 1:07 left in the third.

Wingate's drought from the field would reach nearly eight minutes until a layup by Hatfield with 7:29 left in the fourth quarter. A foul shot by Arnwine gave the Pioneers their largest lead at 54-34 with 6:27 left, and the margin was at 18 with just under three minutes to go before Wingate closed the game on a 9-2 run.

Saylor had eight points and six rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench for Wingate, while Wilson added seven points and two boards. Overall, Wingate's bench outscored the Tusculum reserves by a 15-6 margin as four of the five Pioneer starters played at least 32 minutes.

The Pioneers will host UVA Wise on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Pioneer Arena. The game will be the season opener for the Cavaliers, who lost twice to the Pioneers last season by a combined 10 points.