GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Following a two-week holiday break, the Tusculum University women's basketball team begins 2022 with a pair of South Atlantic Conference home games this week against the top two teams in the league.

The Pioneers (5-8, 3-6 SAC) will host Wingate on Wednesday at 2 p.m., followed by a visit from Catawba on Saturday at 2 p.m. Wingate (11-1, 9-0 SAC) is ranked 21st in the D2SIDA national poll, while Catawba (11-0, 8-0 SAC) is 18th in the WBCA Division II poll and 11th in the D2SIDA rankings. Tusculum has played five ranked opponents already this season, with the lone victory a 54-38 win over #4/7 North Georgia at Pioneer Arena on Dec. 8.

Tusculum won two of its final three games before the holiday break, beating Newberry 71-61 at home on Dec. 15 and Lenoir-Rhyne on the road by a 58-48 score on Dec. 18. In their most-recent game, the Pioneers saw a 17-point halftime lead slip away as Wingate rallied for a 64-59 home win on Dec. 20.

PROFILING THE PIONEERS
Senior forward Brianna Dixon made her season debut against Newberry on Dec. 15 and made an immediate impact, scoring 21 points in the win over the Wolves. In her three games so far, Dixon is averaging a team-high 13.0 points per game and 3.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 12-for-14 from the foul line.

Senior Mya Belton has emerged as a consistent scoring threat for the Pioneers, having reached double figures in each of the last seven games and 10 times in 13 games this season. Belton has posted four double-doubles during the last seven contests, reaching a career high with 15 boards against Newberry and adding 15 points and 13 rebounds in the win at Lenoir-Rhyne.

Belton is averaging 12.5 points per game and ranks fifth in the SAC in rebounding at 8.6 per contest, and is seventh in blocked shots at 1.5 per game. She is one of two players in the SAC averaging at least one steal and one blocked shot per game. Her next three-pointer will be the 100th of her career, which would make her the 13th player in program history to make 100 career threes.

Guard Jalia Arnwine continues to climb toward the 1,000 career points plateau, entering the week 53 points shy of becoming the 20th player in school history to reach the milestone. Arnwine has been hot since returning to the lineup after missing two non-conference games, averaging 16.3 points per game while shooting a sizzling 52.6 percent (10-for-19) from three-point range in that three-game span.

Arnwine, who has played all but one minute over the last three games, is averaging 12.5 points per game and ranks fifth in the SAC with 24 three-pointers. She is second in the conference in minutes played at 36.0 per game, and brings a streak of 20 consecutive games with a three-pointer into the week.

Freshman guard Lexi Patty continues to lead the Pioneers in field goal percentage at 50 percent (25-for-50), and is averaging 8.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in five starts. Junior guard Jordan Rogers has started four of the last five games for Tusculum and is one of four players tied for the team lead with 17 steals, joining Belton, Arnwine and Sophie Henry.

Tusculum is 11th in the SAC in scoring average at 59.2 points per game, but ranks third in scoring defense at 61.5 points allowed per contest. Tusculum remains third in the conference in three-pointers made (7.4) and attempted (23.9) per game, but Tusculum is last in made free throws at 9.2 per contest. The Pioneers were called for a season-high 25 fouls at Wingate, which led to a 31-11 free throw disparity in favor of the host Bulldogs.

SCOUTING WINGATE
Wingate has won 11 straight games since opening the season with an 89-85 loss to Francis Marion on Nov. 12. Wingate is 5-0 in games decided by five points or less, including a 63-61 win at UVA Wise on Sunday in which the Bulldogs nearly let a 12-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter and survived a last-second three-point attempt from the Cavaliers to remain undefeated in conference play at 9-0.

Junior forward Bryanna Troutman leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 17.0 points per game (fourth in the SAC) and is ninth in the conference in rebounding at 7.6 per game. Troutman, who is fifth in the league in shooting at 52.8 percent (84-for-159), failed to reach double figures for the second time in 12 games when she was held to nine points by the Pioneers on Dec. 20. Troutman has five 20-point games this season and three double-doubles.

Junior guard Hannah Clark averages 11.8 points per game and shooting 45.2 percent (14-for-31) from three-point range to rank third in the SAC from beyond the arc. Clark had a season-high 20 points in the comeback win over the Pioneers but went 1-for-10 for five points against UVA Wise on Sunday.

Senior center Haleigh Brandon has been dominant in the post for the Bulldogs, leading the SAC and ranking third in Division II in rebounding at 13.6 per game. Brandon has six double-doubles this season, including four in a row, and had a SAC season-best 20 rebounds against Augusta on Dec. 11. Brandon is averaging 11.1 points per game and shoots 75.6 percent from the foul line.

As a team, Wingate leads Division II in three-point percentage at 42.3 percent (80-for-189) and ranks fourth in rebounding margin at plus-12.1 per game. The Bulldogs are second in the SAC in scoring average (75.8 ppg) and shoot 45.7 percent from the field to rank second in the league.

Wingate leads the all-time series over Tusculum by a 35-15 margin following their win on Dec. 20. It is the third time in the last four years that the Pioneers have played consecutive games against Wingate. In 2018-19, Wingate won 51-47 in the regular-season finale and 53-47 in a SAC quarterfinal game, and in 2019-20 Wingate again won 51-47 in the final game of the regular season, but Tusculum took an 82-40 rout of the Bulldogs in the conference quarterfinals four days later.

Tusculum has not played an opponent in back-to-back regular-season games since the start of the 1994-95 season, when the Pioneers beat Cumberlands 95-81 at home in the season opener and followed four days later with a 75-66 road win in Cumberlands' holiday tournament in Williamsburg, Kentucky.

SCOUTING CATAWBA
Catawba puts its unbeaten record on the line on Wednesday at Anderson after coming through the 2021 portion of its schedule with a perfect 11-0 record, including a 69-58 win over the Pioneers at home on Nov. 20. The Indians have had just one game decided by fewer than eight points, a 60-57 win over Lincoln Memorial on Nov. 23.

The Indians bring remarkable balance to the floor, using the same starting lineup in each of its first 11 games with all five players averaging between 10.6 and 11.8 points per game. Senior guard Shemya Stanback leads Catawba in scoring at 11.8 points per game and leads the SAC in assists per game (4.5), steals per game (3.7) and three-point percentage at 54.5 percent (12-for-22). Stanback is second in Division II in steals per game, which includes nine against Lenoir-Rhyne on Dec. 11.

Junior center Sara McIntosh averages 11.5 points per game and shoots 51.6 percent from the field, and scored a season-high 27 points at Limestone on Dec. 8. Junior guard Janiya Downs is at 11.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, with senior forward Taisha DeShazo averaging 11.4 points per contest. Junior guard Lyrik Thorne is the fifth Catawba player in double figures at 10.6 points per game, and is a perfect 11-for-11 at the foul line.

The Indians rank third in the SAC in scoring at 73.2 points per game, and are second in scoring defense at 57.5 points against per game. Catawba leads the SAC in turnovers forced at 23.1 per game, while the offense is best in the league by yielding just 15.1 turnovers per contest. The Indians also lead the SAC in steals per game at 12.6, and are tops in the conference in both field goal attempts (67.7) and three-point attempts (24.8) per game. Catawba's lone flaw is at the foul line, where the Indians are dead last in the league at 63.5 percent.

Catawba's win over Tusculum in November gave the Indians a 26-25 edge in the all-time series over the Pioneers. In that game, McIntosh led the Indians with 25 points while Stanback had 14 points and 16 rebounds. Tusculum has a 14-11 lead in meetings at Pioneer Arena.

TICKETS
Admission for 2021-22 Tusculum home basketball games is $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. Fans may also purchase tickets online in advance through HomeTown Ticketing at www.TusculumPioneers.com/information/tickets. Spectators using HomeTown Ticketing can choose to print tickets at home or use mobile entry tickets at the gate. All attendees are currently required to wear face masks while inside Pioneer Arena.

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.