HARTSVILLE, S.C. --- Four players finished in double figures and Tusculum University held Coker University to 26.9 percent shooting as the Pioneers picked up a 64-45 victory Saturday afternoon in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action from the DeLoach Center.
Brianna Dixon scored a game-high 17 points, Deidre Cheremond added 15 points and seven rebounds and Mya Belton recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Pioneers (6-10, 4-8 SAC), who outrebounded the Cobras by a 44-28 margin and outscored Coker 17-3 in second-chance points to earn their 12th consecutive victory in the series.
Jalia Arnwine also reached double figures for Tusculum with 12 points as the Pioneers outscored the Cobras 36-22 in the second half after leading by five at halftime. Sophie Henry returned to action for the Pioneers after missing five games due to injury and contributed a career-high six rebounds along with two points, three assists and three steals in 28 minutes.
Saquita Joyner led the Cobras (3-8, 2-7 SAC) with 14 points and five rebounds, but Coker shot 14-for-52 from the field and 4-for-20 from three-point range against a Tusculum defense that leads the SAC in field-goal percentage defense at 36.1 percent. It is the sixth time this season that the Pioneers have held an opponent under 50 points, and the ninth straight conference opponent limited to fewer than 70 points.
Belton's double-double was her sixth of the season, while Dixon's 17 points were her most since scoring 21 in her season debut against Newberry on Dec. 15. With her 12 points against Coker, Arnwine moved within 20 points of becoming the 20th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
The teams came up empty on each of first three possessions, before a jumper from Belton gave Tusculum the first points of the game with 7:51 left in the opening quarter. Coker took its only lead at 3-2 on a three-point play by Ashauntee Nelson with 7:34 left in the period, before Tusculum scored six straight on two baskets from Cheremond and two free throws from Dixon to go up 8-3 with 5:56 to go in the quarter. The Cobras would cut the deficit to 8-6, but would go nearly 3 1/2 minutes without a point as Tusculum scored nine in a row to go up 15-6 on a layup by Cheremond with 2:07 left in the quarter. A putback by Dixon with 20 seconds left would send the Pioneers to the second quarter holding a 17-10 lead.
The Pioneers went up 20-12 on a three-pointer from Arnwine with 7:58 left in the second quarter, but both teams would go scoreless for 3 1/2 minutes as Tusculum went 0-for-8 from the field with two turnovers and Coker was 0-for-3 from the floor with three turnovers. A jumper by Joyner would break the drought and cut the Tusculum lead to 20-14 with 4:22 left in the half, but baskets by Cheremond and Arnwine would send to Pioneers to their largest lead of the half at 24-14 with 3:01 to play. Coker's offense came to life in the latter stages of the half, as the Cobras were 3-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line to cut the Tusculum lead to 28-23 at intermission.
Cheremond and Arnwine shared the team lead in scoring for the Pioneers with eight points apiece in the first half, with Cheremond pulling five rebounds. Belton had six points and a game-high six rebounds in the half and Dixon added six points and four boards as the Pioneers shot 28.9 percent (11-for-38) from the field in the half. Joyner led Coker with 11 points and three rebounds in the opening half as Coker shot 36.4 percent (8-for-22) from the floor but turned the ball over nine times.
Tusculum scored the first six points of the third quarter on two free throws from Belton, a basket from Henry and a layup from Cheremond to go up 34-23 with 8:39 left in the period. The Cobras missed their first three shots of the half and turned the ball over twice until Raya Coley hit a three with 7:18 remaining. A three-point play from Cheremond restored Tusculum's double-digit lead at 37-27 with 5:22 left, and two layups from Arnwine and one each from Cheremond, Dixon and Alyssa Walker stretched the Pioneer advantage to 48-31 with 2:24 remaining in the quarter. Coker endured a drought of 5 1/2 minutes between field goals, going 0-for-5 from the field with two turnovers, as the Pioneers carried a 52-35 lead into the fourth. The Cobras shot 2-for-12 from the field and 7-for-14 from the foul line in the period.
Just as they did in the third quarter, the Pioneers scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to take their largest lead at 58-35 on a Belton layup with 8:51 left. Coker missed its first five shots of the fourth quarter until Valicia Demeritte hit a three-pointer with 6:05 remaining. Despite going scoreless for nearly four minutes, the Pioneers were able to maintain their lead as Coker shot 4-for-18 from the field in the fourth quarter and 20 percent (6-for-30) in the second half.
Off the bench, Alyssa Walker had four points and four rebounds in 14 minutes for the Pioneers, with Jordan Rogers adding two points and four boards. Coker received seven points from its bench, led by four points from Haley McClure. Nelson was the only other Cobra to approach double figures in scoring, finishing with eight points and three rebounds in 34 minutes.
Coker finished with 16 turnovers, which Tusculum turned into eight points, while the Cobras had nine points off 14 Pioneer miscues. Coker went 13-for-23 from the foul line as a team while Tusculum was a perfect 9-for-9 at the stripe, led by 4-for-4 apiece from Dixon and Belton.
The Pioneers will return home for three consecutive games, starting Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. against Queens. The Royals (4-9, 3-9 SAC) lost 77-74 at UVA Wise on Saturday and have dropped eight straight meetings with the Pioneers, including a 74-41 Tusculum victory in Charlotte on Dec. 1.
