GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University set a Pilot/Flying J South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Championship tournament record with 14 three-pointers and placed five players in double figures in an 82-40 rout of Wingate University in quarterfinal action Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.
The third-seeded Pioneers (22-7) avenged a 51-47 loss to the Bulldogs in their regular-season finale on Saturday by shooting 67 percent (18-for-27) from the field in the second half and outscoring Wingate 47-25 in the second half. The 42-point margin of victory was the largest by Tusculum in a SAC Tournament game, and was the largest by any team since 2002. The 42-point win was also the largest ever by either team in the 48-game series between Tusculum and Wingate, and came after the Pioneers had lost four of its last five meetings with the Bulldogs by a combined total of 20 points.
Tusculum's 14 three-pointers broke the conference tournament single-game record of 12, set by Catawba against Newberry in the 2003 quarterfinals. The 40 points scored by Wingate were just two above the tournament record low for a single game of 38 set by Carson-Newman against Gardner-Webb in 2000, and were the fewest points given up by the Pioneers this season.
With the victory, Tusculum advances to the semifinal round for the first time since 2013 and will play second-seeded Carson-Newman on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Timmons Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. The Pioneers swept the season series from the Eagles, winning 71-66 on the road on Jan. 15 and 79-74 at home on Feb. 19.
Aliyah Miller led Tusculum with 15 points off the bench, with Mya Belton, Mia Long and Jalia Arnwine adding 13 points apiece and Kasey Johnson contributing 11 and seven rebounds. Maddie Sutton just missed her ninth double-double of the season, but had a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with her eight points and a career-best five assists.
In addition to her 13 points, Long matched her season high with eight assists and tied her career high with eight steals, which also equaled the SAC Tournament single-game record of eight steals set by Denise Shelton of Mars Hill in 2000 and duplicated by Crystal Clary of Lenoir-Rhyne in 2004.
Tusculum led 19-11 after one quarter, then held Wingate to four points on two field goals in the second quarter as the Pioneers built a 35-15 lead at halftime. The Pioneers shot 11-for-16 (68.8 percent) in the third quarter to extend their lead to 29 points, and went 5-for-6 from three-point range in the fourth quarter while leading by as many as 43 points in the closing minutes.
Bryanna Troutman led the sixth-seeded Bulldogs (17-13) with 14 points and six rebounds, as Wingate shot 42.5 percent (17-for-40) from the field but made just one three-pointer and turned the ball over 28 times, which led to 28 points for the Pioneers. Wingate was outrebounded 37-29 by Tusculum and saw its bench outscored by Tusculum's bench by a 35-6 margin.
Miller shot 5-for-11 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three assists in 27 minutes off the bench. Belton connected on three from three-point range and also had five rebounds in 22 minutes for the Pioneers. Arnwine also hit three three-pointers and matched her career high with four steals to go along with her 13 points.
Wingate led briefly in the game's opening minutes, going up 5-3 on a foul shot by Troutman with 5:46 left in the first quarter. Tusculum then got back-to-back threes from Long and Sutton to take the lead for good as part of an 11-0 run that pushed the Pioneers to a 14-5 lead with 2:13 left in the first quarter. Tusculum shot just 27.3 percent (6-for-22) in the first quarter, but went 5-for-10 from three-point range in the period.
Tusculum's lead reached double figures at 21-11 on a steal and layup by Long with 8:09 left in the first half. Wingate opened the quarter missing its first three shots and committing six turnovers before Maeola Willis hit a layup with 5:18 left to bring the Bulldogs within 23-13. Tusculum then went on a 10-0 run that including five points from Miller to take a 33-13 lead with 43 seconds remaining in the half.
The Pioneers led 35-15 at intermission as Miller had a game-high seven points off the Tusculum bench and Sutton and Arnwine added six points apiece. The Pioneers shot 31.6 percent in the first half, missing all seven of its three-point attempts in the second quarter, but Tusculum's defense forced Wingate into 22 first-half turnovers and scored 20 points off the miscues. Troutman led Wingate with five points and four rebounds as Wingate attempted just 15 shots and allowed Tusculum to grab 13 offensive boards in the half.
Tusculum's lead grew to 31 points at 58-27 on a layup by Long with 2:20 left in the third quarter, with both teams shooting over 50 percent in the quarter. Long had eight points and Arnwine seven in the third quarter for the Pioneers, while Troutman led the Bulldogs with nine points in the period as Tusculum carried a 62-33 lead into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, the Pioneers outscored the Bulldogs 20-7 as Belton went 3-for-3 from three-point range for nine points. Tusculum closed the game on a 12-4 run after taking its largest lead at 79-36 on a foul shot by Marta Rodrigues with 2:09 remaining.
The victory was the first by Tusculum in a SAC Championship quarterfinal home game since a 62-61 win over Anderson in 2011. Wingate, which had made each of the last four conference championship games, was eliminated in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015.
Tusculum and Carson-Newman have met twice previously in the SAC Championship tournament, both Pioneer wins in the semifinals in 2006 (76-59) and 2009 (85-70). The winner of Saturday's semifinal game will play the winner of the first semifinal between top-seeded Anderson and fifth-seeded Catawba, which will tip off at noon. The championship game will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. at Timmons Arena, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
