GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Jalia Arnwine scored a career-high 25 points and Maddie Sutton recorded her Division II-best sixth double-double of the season as 10th-ranked Tusculum University defeated Mars Hill University 69-46 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday evening at Pioneer Arena.
Marta Rodrigues added 10 points, pulled seven rebounds, and matched her career high with nine assists and Jordan Rogers contributed 10 points in her first start of the season for the Pioneers (8-0, 8-0 SAC), who continued the best start for the program since the 1994-95 season.
Arnwine connected on five three-pointers to equal her career high, while Sutton had 11 points and 15 rebounds as the Pioneers never trailed en route to their seventh straight win in the series over the Lions.
De'Ja Marshall led Mars Hill (1-5, 1-5 SAC) with 18 points and 15 rebounds, scoring 15 of her points in the third quarter. The Lions shot 29.1 percent (16-for-55) from the field and 1-for-13 from three-point range in dropping their fifth in a row.
Tusculum shot a season-low 33.3 percent (24-for-72) from the field and turned the ball over 16 times, but outrebounded Mars Hill 50-40 while outscoring the Lions 28-10 in the paint and 17-2 on second-chance points. The Pioneers also had a 19-2 edge in fast-break points and scored 17 points off 19 Lions turnovers.
Arnwine's previous career high was 19 points, set on three previous occasions. She posted 10 points in the first quarter and 12 in the opening half, then followed with nine in the third period and four in the final quarter.
Sutton's 15 rebounds marked the eighth time in as many games that she has reached double figures on the glass, and gave her back-to-back double-doubles after opening the season with four in a row. She added four assists and three steals in 38 minutes of playing time for the Pioneers.
Rodrigues equaled her career high of nine assists set in the season opener against Wingate on Nov. 21, while her seven rebounds were one short of her career best. Rogers scored all 10 of her points in the first half and had a pair of steals in a season-high 30 minutes of action.
Arnwine scored the first five points of the game on two free throws and a three-pointer, before Marshall got the Lions on the board on a layup with 5:59 left in the opening quarter. Baskets by Rogers and Arnwine stretched Tusculum's lead to 11-5 with 3:35 left in the quarter, and the margin grew to 20-9 after one period following late threes from Arnwine and Rogers.
A three-pointer from Rodrigues with 7:49 left in the second quarter gave the Pioneers a double-digit lead for good, part of a 13-2 run that was capped by back-to-back threes from Rogers and Averie Price which gave Tusculum a 33-13 lead with 5:00 left in the half. The Lions shot just 1-for-13 from the field in the quarter and missed their final 11 attempts to go to the locker room trailing 37-17.
Arnwine led the Pioneers with 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting in the first half, while Rogers had 10 points on 3-for-6 from the floor. Tusculum shot 32.4 percent (11-for-34) from the field in the half, with Sutton leading on the glass with 10 rebounds. Drew McMillan and Selby Baughman had four points each in the first half to lead Mars Hill, which shot a dismal 5-for-26 (19.2 percent) and turned the ball over 13 times in the half.
Marshall heated up from the field in the third quarter, shooting 6-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 from the foul line for 15 points along with five rebounds. The Lions shot 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from the field in the quarter, but could only take three points off the Pioneers' lead as Tusculum had a 54-37 advantage heading to the fourth.
Mars Hill again went cold from the field in the fourth quarter, missing 11 of their first 12 shots including a stretch of 10 straight misses. A three-pointer by Sutton with 2:04 left gave Tusculum its largest lead at 65-42, which ended up as the final margin of victory following two late baskets from each team.
Price, seeing her first extended time of the season due to a shortened bench, finished with five points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 17 minutes. Deidre Cheremond added four points and a season-high five rebounds in 10 minutes for Tusculum, while Brianna Dixon contributed seven boards to go along with four points.
For Mars Hill, Gabby Gianikos had eight points and four rebounds and Alexis Pardue contributed eight points and three boards off the bench.
Tusculum will look to remain undefeated when the Pioneers host Coker on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Arena. The Cobras (3-7, 3-6 SAC) will enter Saturday's contest on a two-game losing streak, and have lost nine in a row against the Pioneers.
