GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Carson-Newman University used a 24-4 third-quarter run to pull away and defeat Tusculum University 94-68 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday evening at Pioneer Arena.
The Eagles (2-1, 1-0 SAC), ranked 21st in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II preseason poll, outscored the Pioneers (1-2, 0-1 SAC) 37-14 in the third quarter to turn a seven-point halftime lead into a 77-47 advantage.
Lindsey Taylor led all players with 26 points and 11 rebounds, as four players reached double figures for the Eagles. Tori Rutherford scored 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting off the bench for Carson-Newman, while Campbell Penland hit five three-pointer and finished with 16 points and six boards.
Braelyn Wykle added 14 points on 4-for-12 shooting for the Eagles, who shot 51.6 percent (33-for-64) from the field as a team and outrebounded the Pioneers by a 42-28 margin. Carson-Newman also scored 24 points off 21 Tusculum turnovers.
Mya Belton paced the Pioneers with 18 points, and Jalia Arnwine added 13 points and a career-best seven assists. Off the bench, Myajae Eubanks chipped in 11 points and five rebounds, and Jenna Kallenberg contributed nine points and four boards for the Pioneers.
Tusculum got off to a red-hot shooting start, hitting five of their first six from three-point range and shooting 72.7 percent (8-for-11) from the field in the first quarter. However, the Pioneers tailed off to finish the game at 41.8 percent (23-for-55) shooting and 10-for-28 (35.7 percent) from long range.
Carson-Newman scored on the game's opening possession on a basket by Addison Byrd, but Tusculum came back to go up 5-4 on a Belton three-pointer with 8:18 left in the opening quarter. The Pioneers would use three straight three-pointers from Alyssa Walker, Kallenberg and Arnwine to take their largest lead at 17-12 with 4:35 left in the first quarter, but Rutherford came off the bench for the Eagles to hit three straight shots and give Carson-Newman the lead back at 21-19 with 2:30 to go in the period. Arnwine tied the game on a basket with seven seconds left as the teams were knotted at 21 after one quarter.
The Pioneers scuffled from long range in the second period, going 1-for-10 from beyond the arc with their only made shot from Sophie Henry with 6:59 left in the half to cut the Eagles' lead to 29-24. Carson-Newman would build its lead to 10 points at 36-26 on a putback by Taylor with 4:29 to go in the quarter, but Eubanks beat the buzzer to pull Tusculum within 40-33 at intermission.
Taylor led the Eagles with 14 points and six rebounds in the first half and Rutherford added 10 on 4-for-4 shooting as Carson-Newman shot 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from the field and 10-for-15 from the foul line. For Tusculum, Belton led all players with nine points and Arnwine added eight as the Pioneers went 12-for-27 (44.4 percent) from the floor and were outrebounded by the Eagles 22-12.
Tusculum kept Carson-Newman within sight at the start of the third quarter, trailing 49-41 following two free throws by Eubanks with 7:33 to play in the period. However, the Eagle defense stepped up and forced six turnovers over the next 5 1/2 minutes while holding Tusculum to 1-for-5 from the field. During that span, Carson-Newman was 10-for-14 from the field including three three-pointers from Penland, the latter capping a 24-4 run and giving Carson-Newman a 73-45 lead with 1:33 left in the third.
The Eagles would take their largest lead at 79-47 on a putback by Taylor on the first possession of the third quarter, but Carson-Newman went scoreless from the field for the final five minutes as their last eight points came from the foul line.
Walker, who battled foul trouble for the second time in three games, hit both of her three-point attempts and had six points in 13 minutes of action for the Pioneers. Kallenberg was 3-for-6 from beyond the arc for Tusculum, while Arnwine was 3-for-8 from long range. Henry played 34 minutes and had five points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals with just one turnover in 34 minutes before fouling out in the final minute.
Also off the bench for Tusculum, Jordan Rogers had six points and two rebounds in 14 minutes of playing time, but the Carson-Newman bench outscored the Tusculum reserves by a 24-17 margin as Makayla Alvey chipped in with six points for the Eagles to supplement Rutherford's 16-point effort.
Tusculum will return to the road on Saturday, Nov. 20 with a visit to 20th-ranked Catawba. The Indians jumped into the D2SIDA rankings this week after opening the year with back-to-back wins, and improved to 3-0 with a 70-57 victory at Queens in their league opener on Wednesday.
