GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Catawba College closed the third quarter with an 11-0 run and went on to a 58-48 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.

The Indians (12-1, 9-1 SAC), ranked 17th in the WBCA Division II and 10th in the D2SIDA national polls, erased a six-point Pioneer lead by holding Tusculum scoreless for the final 4:57 of the third quarter. Catawba's defense held Tusculum to 23.7 percent (14-for-59) from the field in the game including 0-for-21 from three-point range.

Sara McIntosh led Catawba with 15 points and Lyrik Thorne added 12 for the Indians, who were coming off their first loss of the season Wednesday at Anderson. Catawba also struggled from the field, hitting 33.9 percent (19-for-56) for the game but 6-for-12 in the fourth quarter.

Deidre Cheremond led the Pioneers (5-10, 3-8 SAC) in scoring for the second straight game, finishing with 13 points and a career-high 19 rebounds before fouling out with 3:07 left in the fourth. Mya Belton also recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Brianna Dixon also reached double figures for Tusculum with 11 points to go along with five boards.

Tusculum outrebounded Catawba 50-37 in the game, including 18 offensive rebounds which the Pioneers turned into 16 points. The 50 rebounds for the Pioneers were a season high, while Cheremond and Belton became the first Tusculum duo to record a double-double in the same game since Maddie Sutton and Kasey Johnson against Anderson on Feb. 15, 2020.

The Pioneers failed to make a three-pointer for the first time in 166 games, since going 0-for-8 against Carson-Newman on Jan. 6, 2016. Tusculum had entered the game ranked third in the SAC in made three-pointers per game at 7.6, and had tied their season high with 10 against Wingate on Wednesday afternoon.

Cheremond, who had a career-best 24 points in Wednesday's loss to Wingate, shot 4-for-12 from the field and 5-for-5 from the foul line in 33 minutes. Seven of her 19 rebounds came on the offensive glass, and she reached a double-double midway through the second quarter.

Catawba scored the game's first eight points, as three-pointers from Thorne and Janiya Downs were followed by a layup from McIntosh with 8:04 left in the first quarter. Tusculum got on the board with 7:04 remaining in the period on two free throws from Jalia Arnwine, but a three-point play from McIntosh gave Catawba an 11-2 lead with 5:48 left. Tusculum would cut the lead to 16-12 on a three-point play by Cheremond with 1:04 left in the quarter, but a putback from Shemya Stanback with 23 seconds to go gave the Indians an 18-12 lead after one quarter.

Tusculum went nearly four minutes before getting its first points of the second quarter on a layup by Arnwine, which sparked a 6-0 run that was capped by two free throws from Cheremond to pull the Pioneers within 20-18 with 4:51 to play in the half. With Catawba starters in foul trouble, Tusculum shut down Catawba in the second quarter as the Indians managed just four points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field. The teams would go scoreless for 3 1/2 minutes before Cheremond tied the game at 22 with two free throws with 24 seconds left, and Dixon gave the Pioneers their first lead at 24-22 on a running layup with two seconds left in the half.

Cheremond led all players with 13 points and 13 rebounds in the first half as the Pioneers shot 23.3 percent (7-for-30) from the field and 10-for-11 from the foul line. For Catawba, McIntosh had a team-high seven points as the Indians were 8-for-29 (27.6 percent) from the floor and 3-for-6 from the stripe. Tusculum outrebounded Catawba 27-19 in the opening half.

Tusculum went up 26-22 on a layup by Jordan Rogers in the opening minute of the third quarter, but two free throws and a layup from McIntosh tied the game at 26-26 with 7:27 to go in the third. The Pioneers would respond with six straight points, four from Dixon and the last two from Rogers on a putback to go up 32-26 with 4:57 to play in the quarter. However, Tusculum would finish the quarter 0-for-4 from the field with three turnovers as the Indians ran off the final 11 points, taking the lead for good at 33-32 on a putback by Lauren Ford with 1:52 remaining.

Dixon scored for the Pioneers on the first possession of the third quarter to pull Tusculum within 37-34, but baskets from Downs and McIntosh stretched the Indians' lead to 41-34 with 6:58 left. Tusculum would pull within five twice in the final 6 1/2 minutes, as the Pioneers were 10-for-12 from the foul line in the final period but 3-for-15 from the field. Catawba went 8-for-12 from the stripe in the final 3 1/2 minutes.

Off the bench for the Pioneers, Rogers finished with seven points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 28 minutes before fouling out with 1:00 left. Ford led the Catawba reserves with six points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. Stanback scored seven points for Catawba to go along with five rebounds and a game-high five assists, while Downs had seven points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.

Tusculum, which has played seven ranked opponents in its first 15 games of the season, will look to snap a three-game losing streak on Wednesday when the Pioneers travel to Mars Hill for their first meeting of the season with the Lions. Mars Hill (1-11, 1-9 SAC) lost its third straight on Saturday with a 71-46 defeat at Newberry.