GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Blayre Shultz scored 10 of her game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter and Tusculum University scored the game's final nine points in a 79-70 victory over Carson-Newman University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.
Four players finished in double figures for the Pioneers (19-6, 10-5 SAC), who trailed 60-54 with under eight minutes to play but outscored the Eagles (15-9, 10-4 SAC) by a 25-10 margin to move within a half-game of Carson-Newman for first place in the SAC Mountain Division standings. Tusculum shot 12-for-14 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and 19-for-22 (86.4 percent) overall in a game that featured nine ties and 14 lead changes.
Harli Smith and Braelyn Wykle shared the team high for Carson-Newman with 17 points apiece, but Wykle fouled out with 2:20 left and the score tied 70-70 and the Eagles would go scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting the rest of the game. Carson-Newman shot just 4-for-21 from three-point range in the game and 36.8 percent overall (25-for-68) from the floor.
Jami Tham tied the SAC single-season record for double-doubles at 24 as she finished with 17 points and a game-high 19 rebounds, Mya Belton added 15 points and seven rebounds despite playing just 19 minutes due to foul trouble, and Alyssa Walker just missed her season high with 15 points and seven rebounds for the Pioneers, who drilled 12 three-pointers and outrebounded the Eagles 43-39 to snap a four-game losing streak in the series and a three-game homecourt skid.
Tusculum's victory, combined with Lincoln Memorial's 71-62 win at Limestone on Wednesday evening, leaves the Pioneers a game and a half ahead of the Railsplitters (9-7) in the Mountain Division standings and two games ahead of the Saints (8-7) heading into the final 10 days of the regular season. Both Tusculum and Limestone have three league games remaining while Lincoln Memorial has two, and all three teams along with Carson-Newman have clinched a berth in the upcoming SAC Championship tournament as representatives from the Mountain Division.
Shultz shot 7-for-17 from the field and hit four three-pointers while going 4-for-6 from the foul line. She also added five rebounds and five assists while playing all 40 minutes for the Pioneers. Tham was just 4-for-11 from the floor for Tusculum but was 9-for-10 at the stripe and pulled seven of her 19 rebounds on the offensive glass. Belton and Walker each sank three three-pointers and McKenna Myers added a pair of threes off the bench en route to a season-best eight points.
Tham's 24th double-double in 25 games tied her with Kayla Marosites of Carson-Newman (2019-20) for the SAC single-season record for double-doubles. Tham is now tied for 12th all-time in Division II for double-doubles in a season, four behind the record of 28 set by Katie Cezat of Hillsdale in 2008-09, and remains second among active Division II players in career double-doubles with 57.
Tusculum went on an 8-0 run in the first quarter that included three-pointers from Walker and Belton, helping the Pioneers to a 12-6 lead with 4:37 left in the period. A Walker three with 3:43 remaining gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the half at 15-8, and Tusculum would shoot 8-for-15 from the field and 4-for-10 from three-point range to take a 22-19 lead after one quarter.
The Pioneers led 27-21 following a three-pointer from Myers with 8:48 to play in the first half, but the Eagles would score eight straight points to take a 29-27 lead on a layup by Smith with 6:56 to go. Carson-Newman built its largest lead of the half at 36-32 on a layup by Wykle with 2:28 remaining, but missed its final four shots while a three-pointer from Belton with 1:57 to go and a bucket from Shultz in the final seconds would give Tusculum a 37-36 lead at intermission.
Belton led the Pioneers with 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting in the first half, including three three-pointers, while Walker had eight points and Tham added six points and six rebounds. Tusculum shot 42.4 percent (14-for-33) from the field in the half and canned seven three-pointers in 19 attempts. Wykle paced the Eagles with 13 points on 6-for-12 shooting in the half, while Smith added nine points as the Eagles shot 39.4 percent (13-for-33) from the floor but just 2-for-11 from long range.
Other than a brief 38-37 lead on a Smith layup in the opening minute of the third quarter, the Eagles trailed for the entire period as the Pioneers went up 45-40 on a foul shot from Tham with 6:21 remaining in the quarter. A three-pointer from Tori Rutherford and a basket from Ashlan Crittenden brought the Eagles into a 45-45 tie with 4:28 to go, and an exchange of three-pointers from Myers and Campbell Penland would re-knot the score at 50-50 with 1:08 to play in the quarter. A three-point play from Penland with 43 seconds left following two free throws from Tham would send Carson-Newman to the final period holding a 53-52 lead.
Carson-Newman went ahead 58-52 on a three-point play from Keeleigh Rogers with 8:46 left, and held a 60-54 advantage after two free throws from Ruthie Mbugua with 7:56 remaining. Tusculum would rally back to within 62-60 on consecutive three-pointers from Walker and Shultz, and took a 65-64 lead on a layup from Belton with 5:02 left. The Pioneers built their lead to 67-64 on two free throws from Shultz with 4:02 left, but the Eagles came back to go up 68-67 on two free throws from Rogers with 3:15 left. A long three-pointer from the wing by Shultz with 2:42 to go gave Tusculum a 70-68 lead and would be the final field goal for either team in the game.
Smith would sink a pair of foul shots with 2:42 remaining to tie the game at 70-70, but Wykle would foul out on a putback attempt by Tham with 2:20 remaining. Tham would hit two free throws for a 72-70 Tusculum lead, and Walker added two more with 1:05 left to put the Pioneers in front 74-70. After a miss from Carson-Newman, Belton sank two free throws to stretch the lead to 76-70, and Shultz would add one more free throw and Walker two in the final 30 seconds to clinch the win.
Penland joined Smith and Wykle in double figures for the Eagles with 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting, while Rogers had seven points, eight rebounds and four steals in 32 minutes. Mbugua contributed eight points in nine minutes off the bench for Carson-Newman, while Rutherford and Crittenden had five points apiece.
Sophie Henry played all 40 minutes for the Pioneers and did not score, but had a game-high seven assists against two turnovers. Myers' eight points came in 21 minutes off the Tusculum bench on 3-for-5 shooting from the field, including 2-for-3 from long range. With her 15 points, Belton passed Mia Long (1,077 points from 2017-20) for 17th place on the Tusculum career scoring list with 1,088 points.
With the win, Tusculum head coach Meagan Price earned her 50th career victory as Pioneer head women's basketball coach, making her the seventh to reach the milestone. Angelo Botta is the program career leader in coaching victories with 151.
Tusculum will conclude its regular-season home schedule on Saturday, Feb. 18 when the Pioneers host Newberry at 2 p.m. for Senior Day. Tusculum will honor eight members of the program prior to the contest with the Wolves, who fell to 8-17 overall, 4-11 in the SAC and 0-14 on the road with a 79-62 loss at Coker on Wednesday night.
