GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University led from start to finish to earn an 84-52 victory over Mars Hill University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday evening at Pioneer Arena.

Mya Belton finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds and Jalia Arnwine scored a game-high 18 points for the Pioneers (9-14, 7-12 SAC), who beat the Lions (1-20, 1-18 SAC) for the second time in three days. Brianna Dixon added 13 points for the Pioneers, who led 52-24 at halftime and by as many as 39 points in the fourth quarter.

De'Ja Marshall paced Mars Hill with 16 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and five steals, while Maddie Gillie added 11 points and seven rebounds. The Lions shot 27.8 percent (15-for-54) from the field and went just 1-for-10 from three-point range, and committed 27 turnovers which led to 25 points for the Pioneers.

Belton's double-double was her seventh of the season and came in 22 minutes of playing time. Lexi Patty had a career-best nine rebounds and scored six points, and Sophie Henry finished with two points, three rebounds, four assists and five steals for the Pioneers.

Tusculum scored 28 fast-break points in the victory and shot 43.1 percent (31-for-72) from the field. The Pioneers connected on 12 three-pointers in 35 attempts after setting a school record with 20 threes in Monday's 97-49 win at Mars Hill. Twelve different players scored for the Pioneers, including Averie Price who came off the bench for a career-high seven points and three rebounds in 10 minutes. Tusculum's bench accounted for 29 points in the game, and the Pioneers had a slim 43-42 edge in rebounding over the Lions.

With the win, the Pioneers moved within a game of Lincoln Memorial for eighth place in the SAC standings with five regular-season games to play. The Railsplitters (7-10), who were idle Wednesday night, host the Pioneers on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at Tex Turner Arena in Harrogate. Tusculum remains a half-game behind ninth-place Lenoir-Rhyne (7-11), which upset Catawba 69-61 at home on Wednesday.

The Pioneers, who jumped to a 15-0 lead in Monday's win over the Lions, went up 10-1 early on back-to-back threes from Patty and Arnwine. Mars Hill's first field goal came on a layup by Gillie with 6:40 left in the opening quarter. After the Lions pulled within 11-6 on a three-pointer by Brianne Rosales with 5:11 left in the period, the Pioneers ran off eight straight points to take a 19-6 lead on an Arnwine three with 3:13 to go in the quarter. Three-pointers from Dixon and Chloe Warrington pushed the Pioneers on top 29-13 after one quarter.

Tusculum slowly built its lead through the second quarter, going up 41-21 on a steal and layup by Henry with 5:55 remaining in the quarter. The Pioneers would close the quarter and half with an 11-0 run, capped by a driving layup from Dixon with four seconds remaining that gave the Pioneers a 52-24 lead at intermission.

Belton and Arnwine shared the team lead in scoring for Tusculum in the first half with 16 points apiece, with Dixon contributing 10. The Pioneers shot 45.2 percent (19-for-42) from the field and drilled eight three-pointers in the first half, while Mars Hill shot 30.4 percent (7-for-23) and were outrebounded 24-19. Marshall led the Lions with nine points and six rebounds in the opening half.

Neither team was productive from the field in the third quarter, with Tusculum scoring 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting and Mars Hill going 1-for-14 from the field, with their lone field goal on a jumper by Marshall with 36 seconds left in the frame. Tusculum led by as many as 38 points in the third quarter at 64-26 on a three-pointer from Patty with 2:46 remaining in the period.

Tusculum's largest lead came at 75-36 on a three-pointer from Price with 6:58 remaining. Jordan Rogers added six points during the fourth quarter for the Pioneers, who scored their final points of the evening on a layup by Myajae Eubanks with 1:22 left.

Mars Hill shot 21-for-27 from the foul line (77.8 percent) in the game while Tusculum was 10-for-14 as a team from the stripe. The Pioneers finished the game with 13 turnovers, which the Lions turned into 10 points.

The Pioneers will travel to face Limestone on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Saints lost 69-62 at home to Wingate on Wednesday night to drop to 12-8 overall and 9-8 in the SAC. Limestone, which is sole possession of fifth place in the league standings, beat Tusculum 80-61 in the first meeting of the season on Nov. 23 at Pioneer Arena.