GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's basketball team will look to regroup after a tough last-second loss to conference frontrunner Catawba, as the Pioneers face off with Lenoir-Rhyne and Newberry in action this week.

The Pioneers (14-4, 9-3 SAC) lost 53-52 at Catawba on Saturday after beating Lincoln Memorial 73-59 on Wednesday, dropping Tusculum into a tie for third place in the conference with Carson-Newman. Catawba holds sole possession of first place in the SAC at 11-1, followed by Anderson at 10-2 with 10 regular-season games remaining.

Tusculum will visit Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., then host Newberry on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Arena. The Pioneers beat both the Bears and the Wolves during their first meetings of the season back in December.

RECAPPING THE WEEK
On Wednesday, the Pioneers pulled away in the second half to defeat Lincoln Memorial 73-59 at Pioneer Arena. Sydney Wilson scored 21 of her game-high 27 points in the second half and Jalia Arnwine reached double figures with 17 points in the win. Both Wilson and Arnwine hit five three-pointers, while Kasey Johnson (11 points/11 rebounds) and Maddie Sutton (10 points/11 rebounds) each had double-doubles for the Pioneers.

Wilson shot 9-for-17 from the field and 5-for-11 from three-point range to finish one shy of her career high of 28 points set against UVa-Wise on Dec. 18. Arnwine made a career-high five three-pointers and finished two points shy of equaling her career high of 19 points set twice this season. Tusculum shot 39.3 percent (24-for-61) from the field but drilled 11 three-pointers as a team, including 8-for-16 in the second half. The Pioneers had 16 offensive rebounds as a team which they turned into 14 second-chance points, and also scored 21 points off 20 LMU turnovers.

On Saturday, the Pioneers had their winning streak end at five games as 23rd-ranked Catawba took the lead with 30 seconds left and held on for a 53-52 victory in Salisbury, North Carolina. Wilson, who sat out much of the second half due to injury, and Mia Long led Tusculum with 11 points apiece and Aliyah Miller added 10 points for the Pioneers, whose 17 turnovers were the fewest committed by a Catawba opponent this season.

The Pioneers shot 35.8 percent (19-for-53) from the field and 8-for-25 from three-point range, and led by as many as 13 points in the first quarter. The game featured nine ties and nine lead changes, with Catawba leading for just over nine minutes and Tusculum leading for nearly 26 of the 40 minutes.

LOOKING AHEAD
Lenoir-Rhyne (8-10, 6-6 SAC) has won four of its last five games, including victories last week at Mars Hill (82-58) and at home against Queens (67-58). In the win over Mars Hill, Madeline Hardy scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Bears overcame 4-for-21 shooting from three-point range by scoring 38 fast-break points and 29 points off turnovers.

Against Queens, Kennedy Weigt led the Bears with 21 points and Hardy contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Bears, who shot 46 percent from the field in a game that featured 11 lead changes and seven ties before Lenoir-Rhyne was able to pull away in the fourth quarter.

Hardy leads the Bears in scoring at 15.3 points per game (seventh in the SAC) and is fourth in the conference in rebounding at 9.6 boards per game. Hardy has scored in double figures 15 times in 18 games and has eight double-doubles. Weigt averages 10.3 points per game and is third in the conference with 45 three-pointers. The lone senior on the Bears' roster, Karlie Bearden, is third on the team at 8.1 points per game.

The Pioneers have won five straight meetings with the Bears, their longest streak since winning seven in a row from Feb. 1, 2010 through Jan. 23, 2013, and lead the all-time series 25-23. The Bears are 14-8 all-time against the Pioneers at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium, though Tusculum has won two straight in Hickory.

Newberry (9-8, 6-6 SAC) moved into a three-way tie for fifth place in the SAC with Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate after beating Mars Hill 93-58 on Saturday, snapping a two-game losing streak. The Wolves host Catawba on Wednesday before heading to Tusculum for their second meeting of the year with the Pioneers, who beat the Wolves 61-47 on the road on Dec. 7.

Five players scored in double figures for the Wolves in the win over Mars Hill, led by Julie Kinard who nearly doubled her previous season high with 21 points off the bench. Kelsey Brett had a double-double for Newberry with 10 points and 10 rebounds, as the Wolves outrebounded the Lions 46-29.

Entering the week, Newberry had used the same starting five in all 17 games this season. Keli Romas leads the Wolves in scoring at 12.5 points per game and Talia Roberts is adding 12.3 points off the bench. On defense, the Wolves hold opponents to a SAC-best 25.9 percent from three-point range, but Newberry's offense turns the ball over a league-high 21.7 times per game.

Tusculum has a 27-23 lead in the all-time series over Newberry, including a 14-8 record at Pioneer Arena. The Pioneers will be looking to sweep the season series in consecutive years for the first time since doing so in four straight seasons from 2000-01 through 2003-04.

LEADER BOARD
Wilson leads the Pioneers in scoring at 14.4 points per game, good for ninth in the SAC, and is tied for sixth in steals per game with 2.0. She has scored in double figures in nine of the last 10 games she has played.

Mia Long continues to lead the SAC in steals at 3.72 per game, and has moved up to second in Division II in steals per game. Long, who was the NCAA Division II statistical champion in the category last season, trails only Kyaja Williams of Bowie State who has 3.84 steals per game. Long is also up to second in the SAC with 4.0 assists per game, behind Caitlyn Ross of UVa-Wise (6.3 assists per game).

Kasey Johnson ranks tenth in the SAC in rebounds per game (6.7) and is 11th in the conference in three-point percentage at 38.5 percent. Johnson is shooting 90.6 percent from the foul line, but is seven made foul shots shy of qualifying for the SAC leaders (29-for-32).

Maddie Sutton leads the Pioneers in rebounds at 7.6 per game, good for ninth in the conference, and has reached double figures in scoring nine times this season. Jasmine Williams is fifth in the conference in blocked shots per game (1.3) despite averaging just 12.2 minutes per game.

As a team, the Pioneers lead the SAC in steals per game (12.0, 18th in D2) and fewest turnovers per game (15.9). Tusculum is second in the conference in scoring defense (59.8 ppg), three-pointers per game (8.1), turnover margin (+7.11, 15th in D2) and turnovers forced per game (23.06, 10th in D2).

FOLLOW THE GAMES
Brian Stayton describes all the action of Tusculum women's basketball on the Pioneer Sports Network. Fans can listen to the games locally on WSMG Radio at 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, and on-line at jewel955.com. The Pioneer Pre-Game show begins 15 minutes before tip-off, at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday prior to the Lenoir-Rhyne contest and at 1:45 p.m. Saturday before the game with Newberry. Live video and live stats links are also available at www.TusculumPioneers.com.