GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University scored the game's first 28 points and went on to a 109-28 victory over Regent University in non-conference women's basketball action Friday evening at Pioneer Arena.
The Pioneers (3-1) set four school records and tied two Division II-era marks in the victory over the Royals (0-3), while placing five players in double figures. Tusculum led 26-0 after one quarter and 51-7 at halftime and outrebounded Regent by a 67-22 margin, including 29 offensive boards which were turned into 32 second-chance points.
Tusculum's 81-point victory was the largest in program history, breaking the old record of 79 points in a 117-38 win over Virginia Intermont on Dec. 30, 2009. The Pioneers also broke the single-game school records for three-pointers made (21) and attempted (54), besting the previous marks of 20 makes in 46 tries set at Mars Hill on Feb. 7 of last season. The 67 rebounds for the Pioneers broke the school record of 65 boards set three times previously, most recently on Feb. 11, 1997 at Presbyterian.
Tusculum had 34 assists in a game, equaling the third-most in a game in school history and tying the program's DII-era mark of 34 set at Converse on Jan. 15, 2008. Lastly, the Pioneers had just six turnovers as a team, which is tied for fourth-fewest in a single game and tied for the fewest as a Division II member, which was done on two earlier occasions.
Deidre Cheremond led Tusculum with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench, while Jami Tham had her fourth double-double in as many games with 11 points and 18 rebounds, one short of her collegiate high. Mya Belton hit five three-pointers and finished with 18 points, Alyssa Walker contributed 13 points and eight rebounds and Blayre Shultz also reached double figures with 10 points to go along with four rebounds.
Tusculum's bench outscored the Regent subs by a 54-0 margin, as the Pioneer reserves combined for 11 three-pointers in the game. Averie Price scored a career-high nine points on three three-pointers and also had three rebounds and four assists, while Natalia Crooke, Jenna Kallenberg and McKenna Myers each hit a pair of triples.
Kaila Murrell led the Royals with 13 points and Desiree Cross added 11, but Regent shot 20.8 percent (10-for-48) from the field as a team and 3-for-12 from three-point range. The Royals had a modest 19 turnovers in the game, but the Pioneers turned those miscues into 28 points as a team. Tusculum also had a 21-2 edge in fast break points and enjoyed a 32-8 margin on points in the paint.
Tusculum raced out to a 15-0 lead four minutes into the game as Walker hit a pair of threes and Belton added one. Walker and Belton would each hit another three-pointer later in the period as the Pioneers drilled six in the opening quarter, while Regent went 0-for-16 from the field. The Pioneers would lead 26-0 after one quarter, marking the first time that Tusculum had held an opponent scoreless in a period since the NCAA instituted four quarters for women's basketball in the 2015-16 season.
After a putback by Cheremond gave Tusculum a 28-0 lead in the opening minute of the second quarter, Regent would get on the board on a jumper by Murrell with 9:02 remaining in the first half. Tusculum would stretch its lead to 30 points at 35-5 on a three-pointer by Sophie Henry with 7:11 remaining in the half, and Belton would add nine points during a 14-0 Pioneer run to end the half as Tusculum went up 51-7 at intermission.
Belton led the Pioneers with 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting with four three-pointers in the first half, while Walker had 11 points and seven rebounds and Tham pulled 12 rebounds to go along with six points. Tusculum shot 38.3 percent (18-for-47) from the field but had 15 offensive rebounds and went 10-for-29 from three-point range in the half. Murrell had five points and four rebounds to lead the Royals, who were 2-for-24 (8.3 percent) from the field and turned the ball over 13 times in the opening half.
The Pioneers went on a 16-0 run in the third quarter, going up 61-11 on a three-pointer by Belton with 7:00 left in the period and taking a 71-11 advantage with 1:41 remaining on a putback by Cheremond. Another basket by Cheremond in the waning seconds of the quarter would send Tusculum to the fourth with a 76-13 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Pioneers would connect on nine three-pointers in 18 attempts, including back-to-back threes by Kallenberg and Myers to go up 82-13 with 9:09 to play. Crooke would sink consecutive threes to stretch the Tusculum advantage to 92-18 with 6:23 left, and Price would drill two straight for a 98-24 Tusculum lead with 3:55 remaining. Crooke would push Tusculum to 100 points on a layup with 3:20 left, and the Pioneers would close the game with three-pointers from Alyssa Lindsey, Kallenberg and Carleigh Wilson, the latter breaking the school single-game record with 1:12 to go.
Henry finished with seven assists and zero turnovers in 18 minutes for the Pioneers while Delana DeBusk had four assists and zero turnovers in 14 minutes off the bench. Crooke tallied eight points and had three assists, and Myers had six points and six rebounds in 19 minutes while Kallenberg had six points as well. All 13 players who saw action for the Pioneers had at least one assist in the game.
Tusculum will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 26 at Young Harris as part of the YHC Classic, beginning at 4 p.m. The Mountain Lions beat Anderson 75-56 in their season opener on Thursday, and will face Mars Hill at home on Tuesday before hosting the Pioneers next weekend.
