Pioneers take on Queens, Lincoln Memorial this week

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Lincoln Memorial (4-4, 2-3 SAC)	14	10	17	14	55
Tusculum (2-6, 1-5 SAC)	11	14	16	6	47

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Tusculum (2-5, 1-4 SAC)	13	12	31	18	74
Queens (N.C.) (1-4, 0-4 SAC)	10	11	14	6	41

Game Leaders

Lincoln Memorial

Pts: Mikayla Kuehne - 21

Reb: Mikayla Kuehne - 12

Ast: Mikayla Kuehne - 7

Tusculum

Pts: Jordan Rogers - 19

Reb: Mya Belton - 11

Ast: Alyssa Walker - 3

Team Stats

Lincoln Memorial

Tusculum

Field Goals

(18-47)

(17-53)

Field Goal %

38.3%

32.1%

Rebounds

Assists

Turnovers

Pts off Turnovers

2nd Chance Pts

Pts in the Paint

Fastbreak Pts

Bench Pts

full stats

Game Leaders

Tusculum

Pts: Jalia Arnwine - 23

Reb: Alyssa Walker - 9

Ast: Chloe Warrington - 3

Queens (N.C.)

Pts: Kalaya Hall - 15

Reb: Kristy Hamze - 6

Ast: Taylor Stevens - 6

Team Stats

Tusculum

Queens (N.C.)

Field Goals

(27-59)

(16-56)

Field Goal %

45.8%

28.6%

Rebounds

Assists

Turnovers

Pts off Turnovers

2nd Chance Pts

Pts in the Paint

Fastbreak Pts

Bench Pts

full stats

Pioneers take on Queens, Lincoln Memorial this week

Posted: Nov 29, 2021

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's basketball team will look to snap an early-season four-game losing streak as the Pioneers take on Queens University of Charlotte and Lincoln Memorial University this week in South Atlantic Conference action.

The Pioneers (1-5, 0-4 SAC) visit Queens (1-3, 0-3 SAC) on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. and welcome Lincoln Memorial (2-4, 1-3 SAC) to Pioneer Arena on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tipoff. Saturday's game will be a rematch of the 2021 SAC Championship game, which the Pioneers won over the Railsplitters by a 59-47 score for their second straight SAC tournament title.

Tusculum lost at home to Limestone 80-61 on Tuesday evening, then rallied in the fourth quarter before dropping a 69-62 decision at UVA Wise on Saturday. The Pioneers have yet to crack the 70-point mark this season after doing so 10 times in 23 games last year.

RECAPPING THE WEEK
Quin Byrd was one of three Limestone players to score 20 points, finishing with a game-high 27 as the Saints defeated Tusculum 80-61 Tuesday evening at Pioneer Arena. Reagan Kargo added 22 points and Reagan McCray chipped in with 20 for the Saints, who shot an even 50 percent from the field (26-for-52) and three-point range (11-for-22) and outrebounded the Pioneers by a 42-34 margin.

Jordan Rogers led the Pioneers with 14 points in 21 minutes off the bench, while Jalia Arnwine added 13 points and Chloe Warrington contributed 12 points and four rebounds. Mya Belton had a team-high 10 rebounds for the Pioneers, who shot 29.5 percent (18-for-61) from the field and 7-for-25 from three-point land in the game, but went 18-for-23 at the foul line.

On Saturday, Nia Vanzant scored a game-high 23 points to lead UVA Wise to a 69-62 win over visiting Tusculum. Vanzant went 8-of-12 from the floor including 4-of-6 from three-point territory. Kalee Johnson added 19 points for the Cavs including 8-of-10 from the free throw line while also hauling in a team-best five rebounds and recorded five steals.

Arnwine accounted for 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Deidre Cheremond posted 11 points off the bench, while also grabbing a game-high six rebounds in her 13 minutes of action. Rogers added 12 points and Jenna Kallenberg finished with nine markers and four boards in the loss.

PROFILING THE PIONEERS
Belton lead the Pioneers in scoring (10.2 ppg), rebounding (7.0 rpg) and blocked shots (1.3 per game) while ranking second on the team with 1.3 steals per contest. She has scored in double figures three times in six games, but was held to just six points in 11 minutes at UVA Wise due to foul trouble.

Arnwine is averaging 9.0 points per game and is second on the team with 5.0 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per contest. She has extended her streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer to 16 in a row, and has scored exactly 13 points three times in the Pioneers' six games. Arnwine is third in the SAC in minutes at 34.5 per game, including a season high of 40 minutes at UVA Wise on Saturday.

Rogers is third on the team in scoring average at 8.8 points per game, while averaging 20.8 minutes per game off the bench through six contests. Rogers, who has scored in double figures in three straight games, leads the Pioneers in free throws made (22, third in SAC) and attempted (31, fourth in SAC) and is tied for second on the team with 15 assists. Rogers is also averaging 2.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 40.5 percent (15-for-37) from the field.

Rogers has helped the Pioneers average 27.8 points per game from the bench through six games. Graduate Chloe Warrington is averaging 87.8 points per game and shooting 46.4 percent (13-for-28) from three-point range to rank fifth in the conference in three-point percentage, with freshman Myajae Eubanks at 5.8 points per game in a reserve role. Cheremond had her best game of the season at UVA Wise, scoring 11 points in 13 minutes as the Pioneers cut a 16-point deficit to two in the fourth quarter.

Junior Sophie Henry has averaged 24.0 minutes per game as the Pioneers' starting point guard, and is tied for fourth in the SAC in both assists per game (4.0) and steals per game (1.8), with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.7 that is fourth-best in the conference. Sophomore Jenna Kallenberg came off the bench at UVA Wise and hit a pair of three-pointers to finish with nine points in 24 minutes of action. She is averaging 5.8 points per game and shooting 35.7 percent (10-for-28) from beyond the arc.

The Pioneers enter the week ranked 11th in the conference in scoring at 58.5 points per game, and ninth in scoring defense with an average of 68.0 points per game. The Pioneers are third in the SAC in three-pointers per game at 8.3, and rank sixth in free-throw percentage at 68.8 percent. Tusculum is next-to-last in the league in free throws per game (9.2) and attempts per game (13.3) and are last in total rebounds per game at 35.5.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Queens (1-3, 0-3 SAC) was idle on Saturday following a 69-53 loss at Anderson on Tuesday. The Royals will be playing just their second home game of the season, and will look to snap a three-game losing streak that started following a 78-69 win over Emory & Henry in their season opener on Nov. 14. In the loss to Anderson, the Royals were outrebounded 53-36 and shot 31.7 percent from the field, with junior guard Kalaya Hall leading Queens with 14 points.

Hall leads the Royals in scoring at 17.5 points per game (fourth in the SAC) and has reached double figures in all four games, including a season-high 25 against Catawba on Nov. 17. Hall leads the Royals with 10 three-pointers in 30 attempts and is 12-for-15 at the foul line. Sophomore guard Kristy Hamze is averaging 10.5 points per game, and senior forward Kiana Barkhoff is at 7.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per contest.

Queens is last in the SAC in rebound margin at minus-10.5 per game, and is next-to-last in field goal percentage at 34.3 percent. The Royals are also next-to-last in the conference in scoring defense at 78.3 points per game, but Queens ranks second in the league in free throw shooting at 72.2 percent (52-for-72).

Queens ended last season with 12 straight losses to finish 1-19 overall, including an 85-54 home loss to the Pioneers on Feb. 8. Tusculum leads the all-time series with Queens by a 15-3 margin, including an 12-3 mark since the Royals joined the SAC for the 2013-14 season, and the Pioneers have won seven straight meetings.

Lincoln Memorial (2-4, 1-3 SAC) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 73-42 win over Coker on Saturday. The Railsplitters had lost two of their first three conference games by three points, a 61-58 setback to Anderson on Nov. 17 and a 60-57 loss to Catawba last Tuesday. Four players reached double figures for LMU against Coker, led by 14 points from senior guard Irelynn Davisson.

Davisson, a graduate transfer from Belmont Abbey, leads the Railsplitters at 13.2 points per game and ranks third in the SAC in three-point percentage at 50 percent (18-for-36). Senior guard Lindsay Proffitt averages 10.2 points per game and shoots 51.2 percent from the field, and junior guard Shaquala Walton is at 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

The Railsplitters rank second in the SAC in three-pointers per game (8.0) and three-point percentage (34.0 percent), while ranking third in scoring defense at 58.7 points per game. Like Tusculum, Lincoln Memorial seldom gets to the foul line as the Railsplitters rank last in the conference in free throws made (8.2) and attempted (12.3) per game. LMU is ninth in scoring average at 61.2 points per game.

The Railsplitters, coached by former Tusculum head coach Devan Carter, lead the all-time series with the Pioneers by a 44-35 margin but Tusculum has won six in a row including three wins last season.

TICKETS
Tickets for 2021-22 Tusculum home basketball games are $10 for all entrants and children 12 and under will be admitted free. Tusculum students will be admitted free and valid Tusculum ID is required.

FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
Fans can watch the action of Tusculum women's basketball all season at TusculumPioneers.com on the Pioneer Sports Network and the SAC Digital Network. The radio call of the games will also be available locally on WSMG Radio on 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, as well as online at https://jewel955.com/listenlive.