GAFFNEY, S.C. --- Four players finished in double figures and Tusculum University held Limestone University to 28.6 percent shooting as the Pioneers improved to 5-0 for the first time in nine years with a 70-46 win in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday afternoon at the Timken Center.

Brianna Dixon, who scored a career-high 21 points Saturday at Newberry, led the Pioneers (5-0, 5-0 SAC) in scoring for the second straight game with 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field. Mya Belton hit four three-pointers and scored a season-high 12 points off the bench, Aliyah Miller added 12 points and Jalia Arnwine contributed 11 points to help Tusculum open the season with five consecutive wins for the first time since 2011-12. The Pioneers' 5-0 SAC record marks the first time since 2008-09 that Tusculum has won its first five league games.

Maddie Sutton finished with eight points to snap her streak of double-doubles to open the season at four, but she tied her career high with 17 rebounds and matched her career best with five assists for the Pioneers. Marta Rodrigues added six points, six rebounds, eight assists and four steals and Kirsten Click chipped in with six points and three rebounds off the Pioneer bench.

Reagan McCray scored a game-high 21 points for the Saints (2-3, 2-3 SAC), but Limestone finished the game hitting just 16-for-56 (28.6 percent) from the field while being outrebounded 47-30 by Tusculum. The Saints turned the ball over 20 times but forced the Pioneers into a season-high 23 turnovers.

Belton went 4-for-9 from three-point range and added two rebounds, an assist and a steal in 14 minutes off the bench. Click was 2-for-5 from long range and had three rebounds and an assist as the Pioneers made a season-high 13 three-pointers in 33 attempts (39.4 percent). Tusculum shot 41.4 percent (24-for-58) overall and was 9-for-14 at the foul line.

Miller shot 4-for-5 from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point territory, and added seven rebounds to go along with her 12 points. Arnwine was just 4-for-16 from the field, but hit three three-pointers and grabbed five rebounds in 30 minutes of action.

McCray hit a three-pointer on the opening possession for the Saints, but the Pioneers answered with 12 straight points to take a 12-3 lead with 6:28 left in the first quarter. All five starters scored during the run, including three-pointers from Miller and Arnwine, as the Pioneers hit their first five shots from the field. Limestone answered with seven points in a row to pull within 12-10 on a three-pointer from Reagan Kargo with 4:26 left in the period, before Tusculum ended a four-minute scoring drought on back-to-back three-pointers from Belton to go ahead 18-10 with 1:57 remaining.

Leading 18-12 after one quarter, the Pioneers opened the second quarter with a 9-3 run which included seven points from Dixon, to take a 27-18 lead with 5:23 left in the half. The Pioneers went up 32-21 on a three-pointer from Click with 2:00 remaining, and carried their largest lead of the half to the locker room at 34-21 following a Sutton bucket with 45 seconds to go. Limestone went scoreless for the last 4 1/2 minutes of the half and missed 12 of its final 13 shots from the field.

Dixon led the Pioneers with nine points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field in the first half, as Tusculum shot 40.6 percent (13-for-32) from the floor and 6-for-17 from three-point range. Sutton added four points and 13 rebounds while Rodrigues had two points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Pioneers.

McCray paced the Saints with 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting in the opening half, while Kargo had six points on a pair of three pointers. Lynadia Whiting led the Saints with six rebounds, as Limestone shot 7-for-29 (24.1 percent) from the field and turned the ball over 12 times while being outrebounded 24-17 by the Pioneers in the first half.

Neither team scored for the first three minutes of the second half until McCray canned a three-pointer to cut the Tusculum lead to 34-24 and snap a scoring drought of more than seven minutes for Limestone. Tusculum began to pull away late in the third quarter as consecutive three-pointers, one from Click and two from Belton, gave the Pioneers a 50-32 heading to the fourth.

Limestone clawed back to within 53-37 on a three-pointer from McCray with 8:48 left, but an 13-0 run from Tusculum gave the Pioneers their largest lead at 68-40 following a three-pointer from Arnwine with 1:44 remaining.

Whiting led Limestone with 10 rebounds and three assists, while Kargo was second to McCray in the scoring column for the Saints with six points in 27 minutes of playing time. Kargo, McCray and Quin Byrd each had three steals for the Saints in the contest.

Tusculum will play its final scheduled game of 2020 on Saturday when the Pioneers host Lenoir-Rhyne at Pioneer Arena for a 2 p.m. tip with the Bears.