ANDERSON, S.C. --- Diamond McDowell scored 40 points and added 13 rebounds to lead Anderson University to a 97-74 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
Nelliah Wilson had a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds and Zamiya Passmore finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists for the Trojans (21-7, 13-7 SAC), who shot 47.1 percent (41-for-87) from the field and outrebounded the Pioneers by a 55-33 margin, including 24 offensive boards.
Ni'Kiah Chesterfield posted her third double-double in the season finale for the Pioneers (3-23, 1-19 SAC) with 14 points and 10 rebounds, with Faith Silva adding 15 points. Delana DeBusk and Artasia Cole had 10 points apiece for the Pioneers, who shot 44.4 percent (28-for-63) as a team but could not stop a Trojan offense that accounted for 21 second-chance points and 24 fast-break points in the contest.
McDowell, who played 30 minutes, shot 18-for-25 from the field, including two three-pointers, and added four assists and a game-high five steals. McDowell scored 15 of her points in the third quarter, when the Trojans outscored the Pioneers by a 29-14 margin after leading by eight at halftime.
Debusk shot 5-for-7 from the field and had four rebounds and four assists for the Pioneers, while Chesterfield was 6-for-12 from the floor. Silva drilled four three-pointers to finish her collegiate career with 337 threes and 1,585 points in 133 games between Arizona Western, WVU Tech and Tusculum.
Silva scored the first eight points of the game for the Pioneers, including a pair of three-pointers. Tusculum went up 15-10 on a layup by Chesterfield with 4:40 left in the first quarter, but Anderson went on a 13-0 run to go up 23-15 on a jumper by Brittney Stafford with 2:06 to go in the period. Silva would hit her third three of the first quarter to bring the Pioneers back within 24-20, but a three-pointer from Ashlyn Sheridan gave the Trojans a 27-20 lead after one.
A putback by McDowell put the Trojans ahead 38-22 with 7:37 left in the first half, but Tusculum was able to creep back within 43-33 on a jumper from Chesterfield with 5:05 to go. The Pioneers scored the final five points of the half on a three-pointer from Nae Marion with 45 seconds left and two free throws from Monique Shim with four seconds to go to cut the deficit to 53-45 at halftime.
McDowell led all players with 21 points along with eight rebounds in the first half for the Trojans, who shot 51.1 percent (23-for-45) from the field as a team but just 3-for-16 from three-point range. Chesterfield and Silva paced the Pioneers with 11 points apiece in the half, with Chesterfield grabbing a game-high nine rebounds, as the Pioneers were 8-for-18 from beyond the arc and 47.2 percent overall (17-for-36).
The Pioneers pulled within 59-53 on three-pointers from Shim and Silva in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the third quarter, only to see the Trojans respond with a 16-1 run to build a 75-54 lead with 4:02 left in the quarter. McDowell finished the quarter with five straight points to push the Anderson lead to 82-59.
Both teams would score 15 points apiece in the fourth quarter, with Tusculum receiving eight points from Maddison Zugna on 3-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 at the foul line.
Tusculum finished the game with 19 turnovers, which Anderson was able to convert into 26 points. The Pioneers outscored the Trojans 27-16 off the bench.
