GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Hannah Clark scored 12 of her game-high 26 points in the final five minutes, including tiebreaking foul shots with 35.5 seconds remaining, as Wingate University rallied for a 66-62 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday at Pioneer Arena.
Clark scored 14 of Wingate's 19 fourth-quarter points after the 24th-ranked Bulldogs (12-1, 10-0 SAC) erased a double-digit halftime deficit against the Pioneers for the second consecutive game. Wingate, which came from 17 down at the half to beat Tusculum 64-59 at Wingate on Dec. 20, trailed 34-22 at halftime but went on a 15-2 run to start the third quarter to even the score at 37-37. Clark shot just 7-for-19 from the field, but went 10-for-10 from the foul line to surpass her season high of 20 points set against Tusculum in the December meeting.
Deidre Cheremond led the Pioneers (5-9, 3-7 SAC) with a career-high 24 points along with eight rebounds, while Jalia Arnwine had 17 points on five three-pointers to go along with seven boards. Mya Belton contributed 13 points and nine rebounds, and Brianna Dixon dished out a career-best nine assists to go along with six points and four rebounds. Tusculum shot 10-for-33 from three-point range in the game, but went just 3-for-20 beyond the arc in the second half and finished the game at 36.2 percent (21-for-58) from the field.
Cheremond's 24 points more than doubled her previous season high of 11 and shattered her career best of 15 set at Coker on Jan. 16, 2021. Cheremond, who played all 40 minutes, shot 9-for-15 from the field and 2-for-5 from three-point range, while her eight rebounds were one off her season and career best of nine set at Lander on Dec. 11.
Belton connected on three three-pointers for the Pioneers, and in the process became the 13th player in program history to make 100 career three-pointers. Arnwine was 5-for-10 from beyond the arc for Tusculum, moving her into sole possession of third place on the program career three-pointer list with 182.
Joining Clark in double figures for Wingate was Bryanna Troutman, who finished with 18 points and six rebounds, while Haleigh Brandon added seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Maeola Willis was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and contributed seven points, five rebounds and four assists for the Bulldogs in 33 minutes. With the win, Wingate takes over sole possession of first place in the SAC after Catawba lost for the first time this season at Anderson on Wednesday.
Both teams came up empty on their first three possessions before Cheremond opened the scoring with a three-pointer with 8:01 left in the first quarter. Wingate would go on an 8-0 run to go up 11-6 on two free throws by Clark with 4:30 to go in the quarter, but the Pioneers came back with a 12-3 run to close the period which included three-pointers from Belton and Arnwine and a basket from Cheremond. Tusculum would lead 18-14 after one period after Brandon canned a three-pointer just before the buzzer.
In the second quarter, Wingate would go nearly 5 1/2 minutes between field goals as the Pioneers built their lead to 30-19 as Arnwine, Belton and Cheremond all drained threes during Tusculum's 12-5 run. Two free throws from Belton with 25 seconds left would send the Pioneers to the locker room with their largest lead of the afternoon at 34-22 as the Bulldogs shot 3-for-15 from the field in the period.
Tusculum, which played just five players in the opening half, was led by Cheremond with 13 points and four rebounds while Belton added 11 points and four boards. The Pioneers shot 50 percent (11-for-22) from the field and 7-for-13 from long range in the first half, as Dixon added four points, four rebounds and five assists and Arnwine contributed six points and four boards. Troutman led Wingate with seven points and four rebounds in the first half as the Bulldogs shot 28.6 percent (8-for-28) from the field as a team.
The Pioneers came out ice-cold to start the third quarter, going 1-for-7 from the field before committing turnovers on four consecutive possessions. Meanwhile, Wingate used six points from Clark and four from Troutman to pull within three, and a three-point play by Brandon with 6:21 left in the third quarter tied the game at 37-37. Tusculum regained a four-point lead at 44-40 on a layup by Arnwine with 4:03 left in the period, but Wingate went back up 47-46 on a Willis layup with 1:21 to play. Tusculum would miss its final three shot attempts of the period as the Bulldogs nursed the one-point lead into the fourth.
Wingate took a five-point lead at 51-46 on two free throws by Clark with 8:04 left, but Tusculum battled back to take the lead at 53-52 on a jumper by Elle Hutchinson with 6:15 to go. An exchange of buckets by Troutman and Cheremond was followed by a three-pointer from Clark with 5:03 left for a 57-55 Wingate advantage. Belton would tie the game on a basket with 4:43 left, but Clark drilled another three to push Wingate on top 60-57 with 3:53 to go. Arnwine would answer with a three for the Pioneers to tie the game at 60-60 with 3:35 left, but Clark would connect with 2:12 left to put Wingate back on top 62-60.
Tusculum would miss its next four shots, but grabbed four offensive rebounds and finally converted on the fifth chance as Cheremond hit a layup with 1:21 left to tie the game at 62-62. Both teams would turn the ball over on their next possessions, giving Wingate the ball back with under a minute to play. Clark would draw a foul on a shot fake and hit two free throws with 35.5 to go for a 64-62 lead, and Tusculum would come up empty on two chances on the offensive end. However, Wingate was called for a 10-second backcourt violation to give Tusculum the ball back with 17.4 to play. Playing for the win, Cheremond missed a three on the wing with six seconds left and Clark canned two free throws with 1.2 seconds left to set the final score.
Hutchinson finished with two points on her fourth-quarter field goal, and added five rebounds and a season-best five assists against one turnover in 32 minutes of playing time. Four of her five rebounds came on the offensive glass, where Tusculum had 13 of their 39 rebounds. The Pioneers finished the game with a 39-33 rebound edge over the Bulldogs.
Wingate finished the game at 41.1 percent (23-for-56) from the field and 15-for-17 from the foul line, while the Pioneers were 10-for-13 from the stripe as a team. Wingate committed 12 turnovers in the game, with Tusculum making 16 turnovers which led to 15 points for the Bulldogs.
Tusculum will face its second straight ranked opponent and seventh in 14 games this season when the Pioneers host Catawba on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Arena. The Indians, ranked 17th in the WBCA Division II poll and 10th in the D2SIDA national poll, lost for the first time this season with an 85-81 setback at Anderson on Wednesday. Catawba (11-1, 8-1 SAC) beat Tusculum 69-58 at home in the first meeting of the season between the teams on Nov. 20.
