GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- After going a month without a home game, the Tusculum University women's basketball team will be back inside Pioneer Arena for a pair of South Atlantic Conference contests this week.
The Pioneers (7-0, 7-0 SAC) host Mars Hill University on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. and will welcome Coker University on Saturday at 2 p.m. Tusculum is 3-0 at home this season, with its last win a 67-44 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne on Dec. 12. Dating to last season, the Pioneers have won eight straight at Pioneer Arena since a 73-60 loss to Newberry on Feb. 1, 2020, the longest homecourt win streak for Tusculum since 15 in a row from Feb. 17, 2010 through Nov. 28, 2011.
At 7-0 overall, Tusculum is off to its best start since 1994-95. The Pioneers have won seven straight in a single season for the first time in two years, and Tusculum's 10 consecutive wins dating to last season is its longest since reeling off 10 victories in a row during the 2010-11 season. Tusculum has not won 11 straight games since the 2008-09 season.
Tusculum returned to action on Saturday and pulled out a 65-61 win at Anderson in a rematch of last year's SAC Championship game. The victory ended a nine-game losing streak at the Abney Athletic Center for the Pioneers, and ended the Trojans' 37-game regular-season home winning streak. On Monday, the Pioneers learned they were ranked second in the D2SIDA Southeast Region poll after being ranked sixth in the preseason survey.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Senior center Maddie Sutton reached double figures in rebounds for the seventh time in as many games in the win at Anderson, grabbing a career-high 19 boards to go along with 13 points. Sutton's double-double was her fifth of the season, which leads Division II, as she increased her season rebound average to 14.3 per game and her scoring average to 12.7 per contest.
Senior guard Jalia Arnwine reached double figures for the sixth time in seven games with 13 points against Anderson. Arnwine has hit two or more three-pointers five times this season, and ranks seventh in the conference with 14 made three-pointers. Her 13.4 points per game leads the Pioneers and ranks 17th in the league.
Senior guard Brianna Dixon failed to hit double figures for the first time since Nov. 28 at Lincoln Memorial when she was held to a season-low four points at Anderson. Dixon did extend her streak of consecutive made free throws to 13 by hitting both of her attempts on Saturday, and now ranks ninth in the conference in foul shooting at 82.6 percent (19-for-23).
Junior guard Marta Rodrigues played all 40 minutes for the third time this season at Anderson, finishing with a game-high seven assists to go along with seven points and six rebounds. Rodrigues is second in the conference with 6.3 assists per game and in assist-to-turnover ration at 2.8, while playing a SAC-high 38.0 minutes per game.
Off the bench, junior guard Mya Belton matched her season high with 12 points at Anderson, while sophomore guard Kirsten Click made her first start of the season and tallied nine points in 25 minutes. Click has made nine of her last 16 shots from beyond the arc (56.3 percent) and is averaging 6.3 points per game.
The Pioneers continued to lead the SAC in scoring defense (53.4 ppg), field-goal percentage defense (33.0 percent) and three-point defense (25.6 percent), while ranking second in three-point percentage at 37.9 percent on the strength of 8.7 made threes per game. Tusculum is up to second in the conference in rebound margin (+6.3 per game).1
INSIDE THE LIONS
After finishing 4-24 overall and 2-20 in the conference last season under new head coach Briana Clark, the Lions gained early optimism with an 83-78 win over Queens in their season opener on Dec. 8. Since then, the Lions have dropped four in a row including a 65-50 setback to Newberry at home on Saturday.
Senior guard De'Ja Marshall got off to a brilliant start with 33 points and 15 rebounds in the season opener against Queens. She added 30 points and 18 rebounds against Limestone on Dec. 15, and 24 points and 18 boards against Catawba on Dec. 19. In the loss to Newberry, Marshall shot just 1-for-10 from the field and finished with season lows of two points and eight rebounds. Marshall still leads the SAC in rebounding at 15.6 per game and is second in scoring at 21.6 points per contest.
Senior guard Gabby Gianikos also averages double figures for the Lions at 13.2 points per game, but Mars Hill ranks last in the conference in scoring defense (83.2 points per game), field-goal percentage defense (41.8 percent) and turnovers (22.8 per game). The Lions are third in the SAC in field goal percentage (40.0 percent) and lead the conference with 32.0 defensive rebounds per game.
Tusculum has won six straight meetings with Mars Hill, having swept the season series each of the last three years. The six wins have come by a margin of 39.7 points per game, and have given the Pioneers a 27-25 edge in the all-time series with the Lions.
INSIDE THE COBRAS
First-year head coach Melissa DeVore inherited a Coker squad that went 10-16 overall and 7-15 in conference play last season, and has the Cobras at 3-6 overall and 3-5 in the league entering the week.
Coker opened the year 0-3 before claiming a 66-62 win over Queens on Dec. 10. The Cobras began January with wins over Newberry (94-90) on Jan. 4 and 83-78 over Limestone on Jan. 6, before falling 87-70 to UVA Wise on Saturday. Wednesday's road game at Wingate will be Coker's first away from home since Dec. 15, a 58-53 loss at Converse.
Junior guard Ahlea Myers is the lone player in double figures for the Cobras at 13.4 points per game. She is shooting 41.3 percent (19-for-46) from three-point range and has scored 20 or more points three times, including 24 last week against Newberry and 21 in the win over Limestone.
Coker has attempted more foul shots per game than any other team in the SAC (25.3) but the Cobras are shooting just 63.9 percent from the line to rank 12th in the league. Coker is giving up 74.2 points per game (11th in the SAC) and the Cobras rank fifth in scoring at 69.2 points per game.
Tusculum has won nine in a row over Coker and has an 11-3 edge in the series since the Cobras joined the SAC in 2013-14. The Pioneers are 6-1 at home against the Cobras, including a 75-66 victory in the most-recent meeting on Feb. 22, 2020.
TUSCULUM COVID ATTENDANCE POLICY
On Dec. 28, 2020, Tusculum University announced it would not allow fans at its home sporting events until Jan. 19, 2021. The announcement was made in accordance with the Tennessee governor's executive order on limiting attendance at indoor events.
FOLLOW THE GAMES
Justin Jeffers will describe all the action of Tusculum women's basketball on the Pioneer Sports Network, with pregame coverage starting 15 minutes before tip. Fans can listen locally on WSMG Radio at 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, and on-line at jewel955.com. Live video and live stats links for all games are available at www.TusculumPioneers.com.
