GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- After completing the first six games of the 2020-21 season as scheduled, the Tusculum University women's basketball team will face a revised slate of games as the squad returns to action following the holiday break.
The Pioneers (6-0, 6-0 South Atlantic Conference) saw their scheduled Wednesday night home game against Carson-Newman and their road game Saturday afternoon at Catawba each postponed due to COVID-19 issues within both opponents' programs. Makeup dates for the contests with the Eagles and the Indians have yet to be determined.
Instead, Tusculum will travel to Queens for a 5:30 p.m. game on Wednesday that was originally slated for Wednesday, Jan. 20. The Pioneers will then visit Anderson in a rematch of last year's SAC Tournament championship game on Saturday at 4 p.m. in a game moved up from Wednesday, Jan. 27.
Tusculum's 6-0 start is its best since the 1994-95 season, which was also the last time that the Pioneers opened their conference schedule with six straight victories. The 1994-95 team went on to win its first nine TVAC games that season. Tusculum's six consecutive wins is its longest streak since seven straight wins during the 2018-19 season.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Tusculum rolled into the holiday break having beaten three straight opponents by more than 20 points (72-50 over Newberry, 70-46 over Limestone and 67-44 over Lenoir-Rhyne). Senior guard Brianna Dixon led the Pioneers in scoring in each game, tallying a career-high 21 points against Newberry, 15 at Limestone and 19 against Lenoir-Rhyne.
Dixon's outburst boosted her scoring average to 12.7 points per game, tied for second on the team, while her 56.3 percent shooting is fifth-best in the conference. The Decatur, Georgia native has canned 11 straight from the foul line and is shooting 81.3 percent (17-for-21) at the stripe this season.
Senior guard Jalia Arnwine has taken over the team scoring lead at 13.5 points per game, after equaling her career high with 19 points against Lenoir-Rhyne in the Pioneers' most-recent game. The Knoxville, Tennessee product is 13th in the conference in scoring average and ranks fourth in the league with 12 made three-pointers.
Senior center Maddie Sutton is second in the conference and fourth in Division II in rebounding at 13.5 per game, and has reached double figures on the boards in each of the Pioneers' six games. The Walland, Tennessee native averages 12.7 points per game and is second in Division II with 5.7 offensive rebounds per game, while continuing to share the national lead in double-doubles with four.
Senior guard Aliyah Miller is fourth on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game, and ranks eighth in the SAC in free-throw percentage at 85.7 percent (12-for-14). The Clarksville, Tennessee product has grabbed at least four rebounds in all six games and is averaging 5.3 rebounds per game.
Junior guard Marta Rodrigues is the only starter not averaging in double figures, checking in at 6.3 points per game. Rodrigues leads the conference and ranks seventh in Division II with 6.2 assists per game, including three games with eight assists or better. The Lisbon, Portugal native has been a mainstay on the court for the Pioneers, playing at least 34 minutes in all six games and averaging 37.7 minutes per game to rank second in the conference.
Tusculum's bench play has been bolstered by the recent performances of junior guard Mya Belton and sophomore guard Kirsten Click. Belton reached double figures for the first time this season with 12 points at Limestone on Dec. 9, while Click matched her career high with 12 points in the win over Lenoir-Rhyne. Belton is averaging 4.2 points per game and shooting 44.4 percent (8-for-18) from three-point range, while Click is hitting 50 percent (9-for-18) from beyond the arc to rank sixth in the conference in three-point percentage.
As a team, the Pioneers lead the SAC in scoring defense (52.2 points per game, 9th in Division II), field-goal percentage defense (33.0 percent, 8th in DII), three-point percentage defense (25.9 percent, 24th in DII) and rebound margin (+7.2 per game, 18th in DII). Tusculum is second in the conference in three-point percentage (38.1 percent, 14th in DII) and three-pointers per game (8.8 per game, 20th in DII).
SCOUTING THE ROYALS
Queens (0-5, 0-4 SAC) has dealt with numerous schedule interruptions over the first part of the season. The Royals have four games from November and December that need to be made up, along with its originally-scheduled game against Catawba on Wednesday.
On Saturday, the Royals lost at home to Wingate 80-74 despite 22 points from senior guard Kristian Eanes. Freshman guard Kristy Hamze added 16 points for the Royals, who committed 22 turnovers and were outrebounded 45-31 by the Bulldogs.
Hamze and Eanes have formed a solid one-two punch in the Queens backcourt, with Hamze averaging 16.8 points per game and Eanes 16.0 points per contest. Sophomore guard Kalaya Hall also averages double figures for Queens at 13.5 points per game, with junior forward Christian Deng pacing the Royals on the boards at 8.3 rebounds per contest.
Even with the offensive production from its backcourt, the Royals have struggled to score with an average of 62.4 points per game that ranks 11th in the SAC. Queens is next-to-last in the conference in shooting (33.9 percent), 11th in three-point shooting (28.6 percent) and last in rebound margin (-14.2 per game).
Tusculum has defeated Queens in six straight meetings, with each victory by nine points or more including a 58-49 home win in the last matchup on Feb. 8, 2020. The Pioneers lead the all-time series 14-3, including a 6-2 mark on the road with three consecutive victories. Queens' last win came by a 58-56 score in the regular-season finale on Feb. 25, 2017.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
Anderson began the week with a 5-3 overall record and 4-2 in conference play. The Trojans are coming off a 67-49 non-conference victory over Francis Marion on Saturday, which improved Anderson's home record to 4-0 inside the Abney Athletic Center. The Trojans opened the season with a 77-63 loss at Catawba on Nov. 21, then earned home wins over Newberry, Limestone and Lenoir-Rhyne before a 75-62 setback at Carson-Newman on Dec. 9.
Anderson finished 26-5 overall last season and 19-3 in conference play to earn their second straight SAC regular-season championship. The Trojans were 16-0 at home last season and bring a 20-game homecourt winning streak into Saturday's contest, along with a 37-game regular-season home win streak. Anderson's last home loss was a 64-61 setback to Lander in the Southeast Region semifinals on march 16, 2019 while their last regular-season home defeat was 56-51 to Lenoir-Rhyne on Jan. 20, 2018.
The Trojans lost two-time SAC Player of the Year Alexy Mollenhauer to graduation after scoring 1,949 points (third in school history) and grabbing a school-record 1,017 rebounds. Senior forward Taylor Hair is the Trojans' leading scorer at 11.0 points per game while grabbing 5.9 rebounds per contest. Sophomore guard Jalyn Spurlin is also in double figures at 10.8 points per game with sophomore guard McKenzie Gadson at 9.4 points per game.
Hair and senior forward Samantha Michel are tied for second in the conference in blocked shots at 1.8 per game, with junior forward Britney Bailey leading the team in rebounding at 6.1 per contest to go along with 8.6 points per game. The Trojans are last in the conference in three-pointers per game (4.1) and three-point percentage (25.2 percent) but lead the league in rebounds at 45.9 per game.
Tusculum avenged a pair of regular-season losses to Anderson with a 61-49 win in the SAC Championship game in what turned out to be the final game of the season for both teams on March 8. The win snapped the Pioneers' six-game losing streak to the Trojans, who are 20-7 all-time against the Pioneers including a 12-1 mark at home. Tusculum has lost nine straight at Anderson since a 72-71 win on Jan. 18, 2012, and the Pioneers are 4-16 all-time in SAC regular-season games against the Trojans.
TUSCULUM COVID ATTENDANCE POLICY
On Dec. 28, 2020, Tusculum University announced it would not allow fans at its home sporting events until Jan. 19, 2021. The announcement was made in accordance with the Tennessee governor's executive order on limiting attendance at indoor events.
FOLLOW THE GAMES
The "Voice of the Pioneers" Brian Stayton describes all the action of Tusculum basketball on the Pioneer Sports Network, with pregame coverage starting 15 minutes before tip. Fans can listen locally on WSMG Radio at 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, and on-line at jewel955.com. Live video and live stats links for all games are available at www.TusculumPioneers.com.
