GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Taylor Stevens hit a tiebreaking layup with 28.1 seconds remaining and the Queens University of Charlotte defense held Tusculum University without a field goal in the fourth quarter as the Royals defeated the Pioneers 52-49 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday evening at Pioneer Arena.

The Pioneers (6-11, 4-9 SAC) led 46-39 entering the final quarter but shot 0-for-14 from the field, with their only three points coming on foul shots by Brianna Dixon. Queens made just two field goals in the final 5:50 and shot 9-for-20 from the foul line in the game, but the Royals limited the Pioneers to 27.3 percent (18-for-66) from the field for the game and 19.4 percent (7-for-36) in the second half.

Dixon, who played all 40 minutes, registered her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-best 13 rebounds to go along with six assists. Mya Belton added nine points and 14 rebounds and Jalia Arnwine contributed 11 points and five rebounds for the Pioneers, who outrebounded the Royals 49-36 and scored 22 points off 18 Queens turnovers.

Kalaya Hall led the Royals (5-9, 4-9 SAC) with a game-high 18 points while Finley Lefevers posted a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds and Stevens contributed 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Queens shot 40.8 percent (20-for-49) from the field but outscored Tusculum 26-16 in the paint to snap an eight-game losing streak to the Pioneers since their last victory on Feb. 25, 2017 by a 58-56 score.

Tusculum had a brief 3-2 lead following a three-pointer by Arnwine with 8:13 left in the first quarter, but Queens responded with an 8-0 run to go up 10-3 following a free throw by Stevens with 5:38 remaining in the period. Tusculum used back-to-back threes from Jordan Rogers and Arnwine to pull within 12-11 with 2:42 to go, but Lefevers scored the final five points of the quarter for the Royals around a steal and bucket by Rogers as Queens led 17-13 after one.

Queens took a 20-13 lead on the first possession of the second quarter on a three from Hall, but back-to-back layups by Myajae Eubanks and a steal and layup by Belton cut the Royals' advantage to 20-19 with 8:53 left in the half. A three-pointer from Dixon after a jumper from Malea Garrison tied the game at 22-22 with 7:27 to go, and Tusculum regained the lead at 27-25 on a three from Arnwine with 3:10 left. The Pioneers were held scoreless for the final 2:33 of the quarter, as two foul shots from Lefevers with 1:11 left sent Tusculum to the locker room with a 29-27 advantage.

Arnwine went 3-for-5 from three-point range in the first half and led the Pioneers with nine points, with Rogers adding seven points and three assists. Dixon led all players with seven rebounds in the first half as the Pioneers shot 11-for-30 (36.7 percent) but outrebounded the Royals 23-18. Queens was led by Lefevers who had nine points and six rebounds, along with Hall who had seven points as the Royals shot 10-for-26 (38.5 percent) from the field and 4-for-10 at the foul line.

Tusculum stretched its lead to 33-27 on baskets by Arnwine and Dixon to start the third quarter, and the Pioneers took a 38-30 lead on a putback by Belton with 7:23 left in the third quarter. The Pioneers would go 4 1/2 minutes without a point as Queens scored seven straight to pull within 38-37 on a layup by Hall with 3:09 to go. Tusculum responded with an 8-0 run which featured a basket from Belton, two foul shots from Dixon, a steal and layup by Jenna Kallenberg and a jumper by Dixon, the latter giving Tusculum its largest lead at 46-37 with 34 seconds to play. However, that would be the final field goal of the game for the Pioneers as a late basket by Hall sent Tusculum to the fourth with a 46-39 lead.

Neither team scored in the fourth until a putback by Lefevers cut the Tusculum lead to 46-41 with 8:27 left. A basket by Garrison and a layup from Hall trimmed the Pioneer lead to 46-45 with 5:54 remaining, and a free throw from Stevens tied the game at 46 with 4:05 left. Dixon restored Tusculum's lead at 48-46 with two foul shots with 3:50 left, but the Pioneers would turn the ball over on three of their next four possessions and Hall tied the game at 48 on a layup with 1:53 left. Dixon hit one of two foul shots with 1:26 to go to give Tusculum the lead at 49-48, and Hall sank one of two with 1:15 remaining for a 49-49 deadlock.

Tusculum missed a shot for the lead with just under a minute left, and Stevens was able to shake loose for the go-ahead layup with 28.1 remaining. The Pioneers missed an off-balance baseline shot with nine seconds left, and Stevens secured the rebounds and was fouled. She made one of two free throws with 5.6 seconds to play, and Belton missed on an running three-point attempt for the tie just before the buzzer.

All 52 of the Royals' points came from the starting lineup, as Kristy Hamze finished with eight points and Garrison had four points along with seven rebounds and four steals. Eubanks led the Tusculum bench with four points in four minutes, with two apiece from Kallenberg and Lexi Patty.

Sophie Henry finished with two points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals in 35 minutes for the Pioneers, with Rogers adding seven points, five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in 27 minutes. With her 11 points, Arnwine moved within nine of becoming the 20th player in Tusculum program history to score 1,000 career points.

Tusculum will take advantage of a bye in the conference schedule this weekend before returning to action at Pioneer Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 26 against Anderson, beginning at 5:30 p.m. It will be the first meeting of the season between the Pioneers and the Trojans (10-8, 10-4 SAC), who are in sole possession of fourth place in the conference and will visit Limestone on Saturday following a 74-44 win over Mars Hill on Wednesday.