HARTSVILLE, S.C. --- Mya Belton reached 1,000 career points and hit a tiebreaking three-pointer with 2:05 remaining as Tusculum University held off Coker University 63-61 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the DeLoach Center.
Belton finished with 14 points and went 4-for-4 from three-point range, one of which in the second quarter made her the 21st player in Tusculum women's basketball history to hit the 1,000-point milestone. Blayre Shultz added 14 points and Jami Tham posted her 19th consecutive double-double as the Pioneers (16-3, 7-2 SAC) won their 14th consecutive meeting with the Cobras (5-12, 0-9 SAC) and seventh straight on the road.
Tusculum shot 11-for-16 (68.8 percent) from three-point range as a team, the third-best single-game percentage in program history and best since going 13-for-18 (72.2 percent) against Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 9, 2008. Belton, who entered the game eight points shy of 1,000 for her career, became the first Pioneer to make four three-pointers in a game without a miss since Aliyah Miller went 7-for-7 at Mars Hill on Feb. 10, 2021 and is the seventh in program history to accomplish the feat. Shultz was 2-for-3 from three-point range and Sophie Henry was 2-for-4 for Tusculum, who received threes from six different players.
Tham posted her Division II-leading 19th double-double in as many games with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Deidre Cheremond added 11 points in 22 minutes off the Tusculum bench. Henry returned to action after missing last Saturday's game against Wingate and finished with eight points and four assists in 29 minutes off the bench for Tusculum.
Mya Wasswa led the Cobras with 11 points and Hope Richardson had nine points and 12 rebounds in just 16 minutes as Coker outrebounded Tusculum by a 37-29 margin, including 13 offensive rebounds that were turned into 13 second-chance points. Coker shot 17-for-19 (89.5 percent) from the foul line but went just 4-for-19 from three-point range in a game in which neither team led by more than nine points, with nine ties and 13 lead changes. Coker is 0-7 at home this season and has lost 10 straight home games dating back to 2021-22.
Tusculum has had each of its last three games decided by exactly two points, the first time since December, 2015 that the Pioneers had three consecutive games decided by one possession. The Pioneers, who beat Wingate 54-52 last Saturday, had not won consecutive games by two points or less since Jan. 29-Feb. 1, 2003 when Tusculum beat Mars Hill 50-49 and Wingate 86-84.
The Pioneers finished the game at 38 percent (19-for-50) from the field but held the Cobras to 36.4 percent (20-for-55) from the floor. Coker was 2-for-12 from three-point range in the second half including 0-for-4 in the final quarter.
After Coker opened the scoring on a three-pointer by Abigail Keesling, Tusculum ran off seven straight points to go up 7-3 on a Tham layup with 5:16 left in the first quarter. Baskets from Henry and Tham and a three-pointer from Alyssa Walker stretched the Tusculum advantage to 14-5 with 2:29 left in the quarter, but a three-point play by Kristynn Knight in the final second brought Coker within 17-14 after one period.
The Cobras would regain the lead at 18-17 to cap a 13-3 run as Dominique Rodriguez hit two foul shots with 8:38 left in the half. Belton would give the Pioneers the lead at 22-20 with her 1,000th career point on a three with 7:24 left in the half, and Shultz and Cheremond would add threes to stretch the Tusculum lead to 28-24 with 5:08 remaining. An exchange of three-pointers by Dasia Lambert of Coker and Tham left Tusculum holding a 33-27 lead with 4:06 left, but the Cobras would finish the half missing four of its last five shots. A jumper by Cheremond at the halftime buzzer would give the Pioneers a 38-29 lead at intermission.
Tham led the Pioneers with nine points and 10 rebounds in the opening half, while Shultz and Belton had eight points apiece. Tusculum shot 46.4 percent (13-for-28) from the field and 8-for-12 from three-point range in the half, but went just 4-for-8 from the foul line. Eight different players scored in the first half for Coker, with five apiece from Lambert and Knight, as the Cobras shot 39.3 percent (11-for-28) from the floor.
Tusculum would miss its first six shots of the second half as Coker went on a 12-0 run to take a 41-38 lead on a layup by Richardson with 4:00 to go in the third quarter. Three points apiece from Shultz and Tham would put Tusculum back up 44-41 with 1:42 left in the period, but a basket from Diamond Jackson and two foul shots from Rodriguez gave Coker a 45-44 lead with 25 seconds left. For the second time in the game, the Pioneers would beat the buzzer as Henry hit a three to put Tusculum back on top 47-45 after three quarters.
After two free throws by Coker's Valicia Demeritte on the opening possession of the fourth quarter, the Pioneers regained the lead at 50-47 as Shultz converted a three-point play with 9:14 left. Tusculum went up 52-49 on two free throws by Cheremond with 8:36 to go, but a three-point play from Rodriguez tied the game at 52-52 with 7:43 remaining. The teams would go scoreless for more than 2 1/2 minutes until Wasswa hit a free throw with 5:04 to play for a 53-52 Coker lead. The Pioneers went six minutes without a field goal until a three-pointer from Belton gave Tusculum a 57-55 lead with 3:13 left.
Keesling sank two free throws with 2:23 remaining to tie the game at 57-57, but Belton canned her fourth three of the game with 2:05 to go to put Tusculum back on top 60-57. After a steal by Shultz, Cheremond drilled two free throws with 1:27 remaining for a 62-57 Pioneer lead. Coker, which had gone over 6 1/2 minutes without a field goal of its own, pulled back within 62-60 as a putback by Richardson resulted in a three-point play with 1:08 left. Tham made one free throw with 59.2 seconds left to put the Pioneers back in front 63-60, and Wasswa answered with a free throw of her own with 45.7 seconds to go to leave Tusculum ahead 63-61. A missed shot by Tusculum gave Coker a final chance with 13.9 seconds to go, but Demeritte missed a three-pointer with two seconds left and the Pioneers ran out the clock.
Rodriguez finished with nine points on 7-for-7 shooting from the foul line in 19 minutes off the bench for the Cobras, while Demeritte had eight points and three rebounds and Lambert added eight points. Coker forced Tusculum into just 12 turnovers, but converted those miscues into 15 points.
Tusculum will return home to face Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at Pioneer Arena. The Railsplitters beat Newberry 63-41 on Saturday to improve to 12-6 overall and tied for third place in the SAC Mountain Division at 5-4, two games behind the second-place Pioneers. Tusculum beat LMU 67-38 in the first meeting of the season on the road on Dec. 3.
