GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum College women's basketball team will open its 2014-15 season this Friday in Bristol, Tennessee against Lees-McRae College in the South Atlantic Conference/Conference Carolinas Challenge. Tipoff between the Pioneers and the Bobcats is set for 5 p.m. on the campus of King University.

Last season, Tusculum rebounded from a 1-14 start to the season to win seven of its final 11 games and fell just one win shy of earning a spot in the 2014 SAC Tournament. Along the way, the Pioneers upset 24th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University.

TC has made five appearances in the conference tournament championship game in the last seven years, winning titles in 2010 and 2011, and made five consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament from 2008-2012.

Unlike last season when the Pioneers began the year with no returning starters, TC will begin this season with four starters from a year and eight letter-winners overall. Leading the returners is Preseason All-SAC first team selection Kristen McMillion.

McMillion, a 6-0 junior forward, was an All-SAC honorable mention selection last season after leading the conference and the Southeast Region in rebounding. Her 11.9 rebounds per game also ranked seventh in all of Division II, and were second in program single-season history.

The Fayetteville, North Carolina native recorded double-figure rebounds in 19 games, including 13 of the final 14. She tallied back-to-back 20-rebound efforts, with the second tying for the second-best single-game rebounding total in program history with 23 boards (13 offensive, 10 defensive) versus Mars Hill.

TC's returning leading scorer is 5-7 junior guard Shynese Whitener. Whitener averaged 14.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last season while playing in a team-high 34 minutes per contest. She ranked fifth in the league with an 84.8 free throw percentage, and in assists per game with 4.1. The Newton, North Carolina native scored in double figures in 20 games, including a career-high 23 points in two Pioneer victories.

Also returning is staring guard Blakely Burleson. Burleson is one of two returning seniors and one of two players that started all 26 contests for the Pioneers last season. The 5-6 Piney Flats, Tennessee native averaged 11 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last year.

Burleson was one of three players to average double-figure scoring, and hit that mark in 16 contests. She scored a career-high 18 points on three difference occasions. Burleson shot a team-best 30.7 percent from behind the arc and hit 31 three-pointers overall, which ranked second on the team.

The other returning senior this season is 5-9 guard Brianna Mitchell. Mitchell appeared in 15 contests in her first season at Tusculum with 12 starts. The Harrisonburg, Virginia native averaged 7.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, and in three games off the bench she averaged 9.0 points per outing. Mitchell posted a season-high 16 points against King and pulled down a season-high nine rebounds on two occasions.

Sophomore guard Maelyn Cutshaw is set for her second season at TC after making an appearance in all 26 contests with 14 starts last season. The Greeneville, Tennessee native averaged 8.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game and ranked 13th in the SAC in free-throw percentage at 75.0 percent. Cutshaw started 14 of the final 15 games of the season and improved her scoring average to 11.0 points per game and her rebounding tally to 3.8 boards per contest.

The South Greene High School product had a pair of 20-point games last season, which were both career-highs. Cutshaw recorded 20 points in a in a victory against Catawba while going a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw stripe.

The Pioneers are also bringing back a pair of sophomores who saw time last season. Jessica Hairston, a 5-10 guard out of Spotsylvania, Virginia appeared in all 26 contests while playing in 15.8 minutes per game. She averaged 3.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game and ranked third on the team with 14 blocks. Michala Hash is a 5-6 guard out of Woodlawn, Virginia who appeared in two contests after joining the active roster in mid-January after serving as the team manager.

Bria Robinson is expected to make her Tusculum debut this season after redshirting last year. Robinson, a 5-10 junior forward, played the 2012-13 season at Bowie State University. She earned All-CIAA first team honors with the Bulldogs after averaging 11.2 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game.

Third-year head coach Katrina Williams has brought in six newcomers for the 2014-15 season including local product Rainey Story. Story joins the Pioneers as a senior after playing three seasons at Virginia Intermont College. The 5-10 forward led VI last season with a team-high 19.1 points per game to go with 4.4 rebounds per game. Story, a product of Greeneville High School, was an NAIA All-American honorable mention selection last season, and is a two-time All-Conference selection.

Also joining the Pioneers is Indya Kinard and Ashley Hall who are both sophomore transfers from Claflin University. Kinard, a 6-2 center, is the tallest player on the Tusculum roster this season. The Clinton, South Carolina native averaged 2.0 points and 1.6 rebounds per game in 21 contests last season for the Panthers. Hall is a 5-4 guard from Flint, Michigan. She appeared in 10 contests and averaged 0.3 points and 0.4 rebounds per game last season at Clafflin.

The Pioneers will also have a pair of freshman on the roster this season. Kristen Atwell, a 5-11 forward, was a redshirt last season at the University of Findlay in Ohio. She is a product of George Wythe High School in Wytheville, Virginia and was a four-year varsity starter. Atwell has career totals of 1,500 points and 1,050 rebounds and is a three-time All-Region and All-District selection.

Madison Malone of Maple Grove, Minnesota is the lone true-freshman for Tusculum this season. Malone, a 5-6 guard, is a product of Osseo Senior High School. As a senior, she averaged 8.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting .309 from the field and .345 from three-point range. Malone was an All-Conference honorable mention selection and also recorded 47 assists (2.8 per-game) and 23 steals (1.4 per game) in her senior campaign.

Following Friday's opener against Lees-McRae, the Pioneers will take on King University on Saturday (Nov 15) in the final game of the SAC/Conference Carolinas Challenge.

TC's home opener will also be its conference opener on Wednesday, Nov. 19, when arch-rival Carson-Newman University travels to Greeneville for a 6 p.m. contest at Pioneer Arena.

- TC -