GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Braelyn Wykle tied her career high with 30 points, including four free throws in the final seconds of the second overtime period, as 20th-ranked Carson-Newman University outlasted seventh-ranked Tusculum University 69-66 in double overtime in a showdown of South Atlantic Conference women's basketball unbeatens Wednesday evening at Pioneer Arena.
The Eagles (6-0, 6-0 SAC) blew a 13-point third-quarter lead and gave up a tying layup to the Pioneers' Brianna Dixon at the end of regulation, but Wykle and Addison Byrd combined for 11 of Carson-Newman's 16 points in the extra periods. Carson-Newman shot just 4-for-21 (19 percent) from three-point range in the game but went 7-for-8 from the foul line in overtime and 15-for-17 for the contest.
The Pioneers (9-1, 9-1 SAC), who were off to the best start in program history with their nine consecutive wins to open the season, were led by Maddie Sutton who broke the program single-game record for rebounds with 25 boards. Sutton finished with 14 points while Dixon had a career-best 22 points. Marta Rodrigues, who played all 50 minutes along with Sutton and Dixon, finished with 10 points and seven assists and had just one turnover.
Sutton's 25 rebounds broke the Tusculum single-game record of 24 rebounds set by Stephany Neptune against Lincoln Memorial on March 4, 2009. Sutton's 25-rebound effort is tied for the third-best in a single game in SAC history, joining Fredia Lawrence who had 25 boards for Gardner-Webb against Carson-Newman on Feb. 6, 1991. The SAC single-game record is 27 rebounds, set by Josey Harding of Lincoln Memorial against Carson-Newman on Nov. 22, 2016.
Sutton, who entered the game ranked fourth in Division II in rebounds per game (14.6) and leading the nation in total rebounds with 131, posted her Division II-leading eighth double-double of the season and her fourth in a row. She grabbed nine rebounds in the first half, 11 in the second half and five more in overtime.
Dixon's 22 points came on 8-for-17 shooting and broke her previous career best of 21 points set at Newberry on Dec. 5. Tusculum shot a season-low 29.3 percent (22-for-75) from the field and went 12-for-19 from the foul line, including just 2-for-6 in the second extra period.
Wykle shot 10-for-23 from the field and 10-for-11 from the foul line to equal her career high also set in a double-overtime game, last Feb. 1 against Anderson. Byrd added 19 points and 12 rebounds as the Eagles overcame 18 turnovers by outscoring Tusculum 14-6 on second-chance points and 32-18 in the paint in the only meeting of the season between the teams.
The loss snapped a 12-game Tusculum winning streak dating to last season, as well as a run of three straight wins by the Pioneers over the Eagles. Tusculum also lost at home for the first time since Feb. 1, 2020 against Newberry, ending a streak of 10 consecutive wins inside Pioneer Arena.
Byrd scored eight points in the first quarter and Wykle added six as the Eagles built a 17-13 lead after one quarter. A putback by Sydney Pearce with 4:44 left in the first half extended the Eagles' lead to 29-20, but three-pointers from Mya Belton and Dixon pulled Tusculum back within 31-26 with 2:17 to go in the half. Wykle would account for the final five points of the half for the Eagles while the Pioneers missed their last four shots from the field as Carson-Newman led 36-26 at the half.
Wykle led all players with 17 points in the first half on 7-for-13 shooting for the Eagles, while Byrd added 10 points and six rebounds. Carson-Newman shot 40 percent (14-for-35) from the field and outrebounded Tusculum 28-17 in the opening half. The Pioneers were led by Dixon with seven points and Belton with six in the first half, as six of their nine field goals were three-pointers.
The Eagles took their largest lead of the game at 42-29 on a jumper by Wykle with 5:21 left in the third quarter, only to see the Pioneers answer with a 9-0 run that was capped by two free throws from Sutton to pull Tusculum within 42-38 with 2:47 left in the quarter. Carson-Newman's lead went back to eight on a basket by Wykle with 1:58 to play in the period, but a three-pointer by Rodrigues on the final possession for the Pioneers made it a 46-43 Eagle lead heading to the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, Tusculum cut the Carson-Newman lead to one on three occasions, including 52-51 on a Dixon layup with 1:26 left. The Pioneers missed three shots for the lead in the final minute, and were forced to foul the Eagles three times in the final seconds in order to send Carson-Newman to the line. Wykle hit one out of two with 1.9 seconds left to stretch the Eagles' lead to 53-51, giving the Pioneers a chance for the tie. Rodrigues' inbounds pass from just inside midcourt found a cutting Dixon underneath the hoop, and she hit a short shot as time expired to send the game to overtime at 53-53.
The Pioneers went up 56-53 on a three-point play by Dixon on their first possession of overtime, but a free throw from Harli Smith and a putback by Skylar Boshears brought the Eagles into a 56-56 deadlock with 2:55 to go. Wykle hit two free throws with 2:07 to go to give the Eagles a 58-56 lead, but a three-pointer from Kirsten Click with 1:50 left put Tusculum back ahead 59-58. Carson-Newman regained the lead at 61-59 on a Byrd three-pointer with 1:30 to go, but Tusculum evened the score at 61-61 on a layup by Sutton with 1:08 left. Neither team was unable to convert baskets in the closing seconds to send the game into a second extra period.
Playing in their first double-overtime game since Jan. 20 of last season at Lenoir-Rhyne, the Pioneers never led in the second overtime period. A basket by Byrd was answered by free throws from Dixon and Sutton, the latter tying the game at 63-63 with 1:55 left. Carson-Newman went ahead for good on a Boshears basket with 1:29 to play, and the Pioneers could not hit two free throws or a foul line jumper for the tie in the final minute. Wykle sank two free throws with 2.8 seconds left and two more with 0.8 left in between a Click three-pointer. A last-ditch attempt by the Pioneers from midcourt went off the backboard as time expired.
Click, who had missed the two previous games for the Pioneers, matched her career high with 29 minutes off the bench and finished with nine points and two assists. Belton fought foul trouble before departing just before the end of regulation with six points on 2-for-6 shooting in 20 minutes, and Aliyah Miller contributed five points and five rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench. Jalia Arnwine, who entered the game as Tusculum's leading scorer at 15.1 points per game, was saddled with three first-half fouls and picked up her fourth in the first minute of the third quarter, before fouling out in the closing seconds of regulation having been held scoreless on six shot attempts.
For the Eagles, Boshears finished with eight points and four rebounds in 39 minutes, while Lindsey Taylor had two points and a team-best 14 rebounds before fouling out in overtime. Carson-Newman faded in the second half to finish at 36.2 percent (25-for-69) from the field for the game.
Tusculum will take a well-earned breather before returning to action on Monday, Jan. 25 at Catawba against the unbeaten Indians. Catawba (4-0, 4-0 SAC) has been idle due to COVID quarantine since Jan. 2, and is scheduled to return to action on Saturday at Lincoln Memorial. Monday's game will be the only meeting of the season between the Pioneers and Indians.
