GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's basketball team will play its final two regular-season home games this week, as the Pioneers host rival Carson-Newman on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 5:30 p.m. and Coker on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Arena.

The Pioneers (18-6, 13-5 SAC) dropped into sole possession of fourth place in the SAC with a 54-51 loss at 17th-ranked Anderson on Saturday. Tusculum enters the week two games ahead of fifth-place Newberry (11-7) in the race for the fourth seed in the SAC Championship tournament and a quarterfinal home game.

Wednesday's game against Carson-Newman is "Pack the Arena Night" and the Pioneer Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (PSAAC) will be raffling off a prize package that includes Apple Air Pods and $100 cash. The first 400 Tusculum fans will also receive free t-shirts as they enter the arena.

Saturday's contest against Coker will be the Pioneers' annual "Play4Kay" game for breast cancer awareness, and also Senior Day as Tusculum will honor the members of its senior class prior to the game against the Cobras.

RECAPPING THE WEEK
Last Wednesday, the Pioneers routed Mars Hill 91-47 as Jasmine Williams scored a career-high 19 points and Jalia Arnwine added 17 points in 14 minutes. Mya Belton scored 11 points and blocked a career-best four shots for the Pioneers, whose bench combined for 58 points in the game.

Williams shot 8-for-13 from the field and drilled three three-pointers to surpass her previous career high of 18 set against Newberry on Feb. 2, 2019. Williams also had eight rebounds and two blocked shots in a season-high 28 minutes of playing time.

On Saturday, Anderson squeaked past Tusculum 54-51 as the Pioneers shot 30.2 percent (19-for-63) from the field and 5-for-21 from three-point range. The Pioneers were held scoreless for the final 2:27 and committed a shot-clock violation with 1.8 seconds left while looking for the tying three-pointer.

Mia Long led the Pioneers with 14 points and Kasey Johnson (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Maddie Sutton (11 points, 11 rebounds) each posted a double-double for the Pioneers, who trailed by as many as eight points in the third quarter but came back to tie the game on a layup by Long with 2:27 left.

LOOKING AHEAD
Carson-Newman (18-6, 14-4 SAC) won its fourth straight game on Saturday by knocking off SAC co-leader Catawba 96-86 at Holt Fieldhouse. Freshman Braelyn Wykle scored a team-high 26 points and Kayla Marosites added 25 points and 13 rebounds as the Eagles swept the season series from the Indians.

Wykle, a top candidate for SAC Freshman of the Year, is third in the SAC in scoring at 17.6 points per game and leads the conference in three-pointers made (69) and percentage (.469). Wykle is fourth in the conference in field-goal percentage at 50.3 percent, and has scored in double figures in 12 straight games with 20 or more points in eight of those contests. Marosites is second in the SAC in scoring at 18.1 points per game and leads the conference in rebounding (12.4 per game) and free-throw percentage (.885). Marosites has 20 double-doubles this season, including 16 in the last 18 games.

The Eagles lead the SAC in scoring offense (84.8 ppg), field goal percentage (.441), three-pointers made (11.3 per game) and percentage (.390), free throw percentage (.788) and assists per game (18.6). Carson-Newman has scored 90 or more points in four of the last five games, including 100 against Anderson in an overtime loss and 102 against Lenoir-Rhyne.

Since Tusculum joined the conference for the 1999-2000 season, the Eagles have gone 29-12 against the Pioneers in their 41 regular-season meetings. Tusculum's 71-66 win in Jefferson City on Jan. 13 snapped a six-game losing streak for the Pioneers against the Eagles. Carson-Newman has won its last six visits to Greeneville, with the Pioneers' last victory a 55-51 triumph on Jan. 9, 2013.

Coker (9-13, 6-12 SAC) won four straight games at the end of January to climb into the SAC postseason picture, then lost three in a row before beating Lenoir-Rhyne 59-54 at home on Saturday. Erin Houser led the Cobras with a season-high 23 points and 13 rebounds while the Coker defense limited the Bears to 31.4 percent shooting in the game. The Cobras open their week with a home game against Anderson on Wednesday before making the trek to Greeneville for Saturday's matchup with the Pioneers.

Houser leads the Cobras in scoring at 12.2 points per game and in rebounding at 9.6 per game, shooting 48.0 percent from the field to rank seventh in the conference. Saquita Joyner averages 9.8 points per game but has reached double figures just twice in five games since missing five contests in mid-January. Houser and Janell Horton are the only Cobras to appear in all 22 games entering the week, with 10 different players making at least one start.

Coker ranks at or near the bottom in several SAC statistical categories, including free throw percentage (.593) and opponents three-point percentage (.346). The Cobras are fifth in the conference in rebound margin at plus-3.4 per game, and rank seventh in scoring defense at 66.0 points per game.

The Pioneers have won eight straight meetings with the Cobras and are 10-3 all-time since Coker joined the SAC for the 2013-14 season. The Pioneers are 5-1 all-time at home against the Cobras, with the only loss coming on Mar. 1, 2014 by a 79-68 score. Tusculum beat Coker 75-63 in Hartsville on Jan. 11, their fifth straight victory in the series by double figures.

LEADER BOARD
Long is 10th in the SAC in scoring at 13.8 points per game, and continues to lead the conference in steals with 3.46 per game. Long, who is sixth in the SAC in field goal percentage (.484), has reached double figures in scoring in 10 of the last 12 games and needs 38 points to become the 19th player in program history to score 1,000 career points, and the third this season.

Johnson, whose double-double against Anderson was her fourth of the season, is back up to third in the SAC in free throw percentage at 86.0 percent (49-for-57) and is 11th in rebounding average at 6.6 per game. Sutton has six double-doubles this season and is eighth in the SAC in rebounding (7.9 per game) and eighth in foul shooting at 77.6 percent.

Tusculum still leads the conference in fewest turnovers per game (15.0) and steals per game (12.3), while ranking third in scoring defense (60.3 ppg) and made three-pointers per game (8.0). The Pioneers are second in the SAC to Catawba by forcing 22.7 turnovers per game.

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 Carson-Newman game, and at 1:45 p.m. Saturday before the Coker contest. Live video and live stats links are also available at www.TusculumPioneers.com.