GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's basketball team will open its quest for a third consecutive South Atlantic Conference Championship tournament title when the Pioneers visit Wingate University for a quarterfinal game on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Cuddy Arena.
The Pioneers secured the eighth seed in the conference tournament despite dropping its final two games of the regular season. Tusculum won the tiebreaker over Lenoir-Rhyne for the last spot in the field after the Bears fell 67-66 to Newberry in the regular-season finale on Saturday. Both Tusculum and Lenoir-Rhyne went 10-14 in conference play, but the Pioneers swept both head-to-head meetings with the Bears.
Wingate (23-4, 21-3 SAC) clinched the outright SAC regular-season championship on Saturday with an 88-44 rout of Queens. The Bulldogs earned their first conference regular-season title since sharing the 2013-14 crown with Lenoir-Rhyne, and will be the number-one seed in the tournament for the first time since 2012. Wingate has officially won nine SAC Tournament championships, with the 2012 title being vacated.
Tusculum (12-16, 10-14 SAC) is seeking to put together just the second run of three straight SAC Tournament titles in the history of the conference. Presbyterian won three in a row in 1998, 1999 and 2000. The Pioneers will attempt to become the second straight eighth seed to upset a number-one seed, after Lincoln Memorial beat Carson-Newman 78-72 last year during their run to the SAC finals.
The Pioneers have not been the eight seed in the SAC Tournament since 2005, when Tusculum lost to Wingate 70-47 in the quarterfinals. Tusculum is 2-3 all-time against the top seed in the tournament, with the victories coming in the semifinals against Lenoir-Rhyne in 2010 and the finals against Anderson in 2020. Tusculum has won four postseason crowns, winning back-to-back in 2010-11 and again in 2020-21.
Wingate has not won a SAC Tournament game since 2019, when the Bulldogs beat Tusculum 53-47 in the quarterfinals and Lincoln Memorial 70-61 in the semifinals before falling 62-60 to Anderson in the championship game. Tusculum eliminated Wingate 82-40 in the 2020 quarterfinals and Newberry knocked out the Bulldogs 70-69 in the opening round of last year's expanded tournament.
Wednesday's game will be the sixth meeting in the SAC Tournament between Wingate and Tusculum, and the third in the last four years. The Bulldogs have a 3-2 edge in postseason play and are 2-0 at home, beating the Pioneers 70-47 in the 2005 quarterfinals and 53-47 in the 2019 quarterfinals. Wingate also beat Tusculum 76-74 for the 2008 championship at Hickory, North Carolina. Tusculum's wins came in the 2011 finals by a 77-66 score at Hickory and in 2020 in the quarterfinal round by a score of 82-40 at Pioneer Arena.
The winner of Wednesday's game will play either fourth-seeded Anderson or fifth-seeded Limestone in the semifinal at noon on Saturday, March 5 at Timmons Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. The championship game will be played Sunday, March 6 at Timmons Arena beginning at 1 p.m.
PROFILING THE PIONEERS
Three Pioneers finished the regular season averaging in double figures, led by graduate guard Jalia Arnwine at 14.0 points per game. Arnwine scored a season-high 25 points in a 67-58 loss at Anderson in Saturday's regular-season finale, her fourth 20-point game of the season and one off her career high.
Arnwine ranks 15th in program history with 1,174 points and is third on the program career three-pointer list with 214. She has set career single-season highs for scoring average and three-pointers made (61), and ranks fourth in the conference in three-pointers. Arnwine ranks 11th in the SAC in three-point percentage at 34.7 percent and is second in minutes per game at 34.5.
Senior forward Brianna Dixon is averaging 13.6 points per game and has scored 20 or more points four times. Dixon is 15th in the conference in foul shooting at 77.0 percent (57-for-74) and ranks ninth in minutes per game at 32.4. Tusculum is 9-9 since Dixon made her season debut on Dec. 15, and she has scored in double figures in 13 of her 18 games.
Senior guard Mya Belton ranks second in the SAC at 9.5 rebounds per game, and is third on the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game. Belton posted her ninth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds at Anderson on Saturday, and has scored in double figures 20 times and reached double figures in rebounds 15 times. Belton is fourth in the SAC in blocked shots at 1.7 per game, and 13th in steals at 1.6 per game, making her the only player in the SAC averaging more than one block and one steal per game.
Junior guard Sophie Henry attempted nine shots in Saturday's game at Anderson, as many as she had attempted in the previous four games combined and more than double her previous season high of four. Henry had a career-high eight rebounds against Anderson after dishing out a career-best eight assists against UVA Wise on Wednesday, and has at least two steals in six of the last seven games. Henry, who averages 1.6 points per game, is fourth in the SAC in steals (2.1 per game) and ninth in assists (3.2 per game).
Junior forward Alyssa Walker averages 4.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game and has made 17 straight free throws since her only miss of the season against Queens on Dec. 1. Walker is 22-for-23 from the foul line (95.7 percent) for the season. Freshman guard Lexi Patty averages 4.6 points per game and matched her season high with 15 against UVA Wise on Wednesday.
Tusculum leads the SAC in scoring defense at 59.3 points per game, and during their recent five-game winning streak the Pioneers allowed just 48.4 points per game. Tusculum has given up fewer than 50 points 10 times this season and has allowed more than 70 points just twice in the last 18 games. On offense, the Pioneers are 10th in the conference in scoring at 60.8 points per game and are 11th in field goal percentage at 36.1 percent. Tusculum ranks second in field goal defense at 37.3 percent and is third in fewest turnovers per game at 15.2.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Wingate shrugged off a 79-67 loss to Catawba on Wednesday by doubling up Queens on Saturday with an 88-44 road victory over the Royals. Junior forward Bryanna Troutman scored 20 points as the Bulldogs shot 54.7 percent (35-for-64) from the field and outrebounded the Royals by a 54-23 margin. The Wingate defense held Queens to 24.6 percent from the field to finish conference play with an 11-1 road record.
Troutman is third in the SAC in scoring at 18.7 points per game and ranks second in field goal percentage at 53.4 percent. She has scored in double figures in 16 straight games since being held to nine points by the Pioneers on Dec. 20. Troutman has six double-doubles and is seventh in the conference in rebounding at 7.9 per game.
Junior guard Hannah Clark averages 12.4 points per game and is third in the SAC in free throw percentage at 87.5 percent and eighth in three-point shooting at 38.5 percent. Clark, who scored a season-high 26 points at Tusculum on Jan. 5 and has three 20-point games this season, is eighth in the SAC with 3.5 assists per game.
Senior center Haleigh Brandon leads the SAC in rebounding at 13.3 per game and is third on the team in scoring at 9.7 points per game. Brandon has reached double figures in rebounding 22 times in 27 games and leads the SAC with 13 double-doubles. At the line, Brandon has made 22 of her last 23 attempts and is shooting 82.2 percent from the stripe to rank sixth in the conference.
Sophomore guard Lauren Sullivan averages 8.2 points per game and is second in the SAC in three-point percentage at 44.5 percent (53-for-119). Sullivan is fifth in the conference in assists at 3.8 per game, and reached double figures in scoring four times in her final 18 games after doing so five times in her first eight contests.
Sophomore guard Peyton Davis has started 26 games and is averaging 6.7 points per game and shooting 82.6 percent (38-for-46) from the foul line. Davis twice scored 15 points and reached double figures seven times during the season. Junior guard Jaia Wilson is the top scorer off the bench for the Bulldogs at 8.1 points per game, and has scored in double figures in three straight games and 11 times this season.
As expected from a team that went 23-4 during the regular season, Wingate is among the SAC leaders in numerous statistical categories. The Bulldogs are second in the SAC in scoring offense at 75.2 points per game and third in points against at 60.5 points per contest. Wingate leads the SAC in three-point percentage at 39.1 percent and leads the conference in both free throws made (15.4) and attempted (20.1) per game, for a percentage of 76.8 percent that is second in the league. Wingate also leads the SAC in rebound margin at plus-12.2 per game and ranks second in field goal percentage at 45.2 percent.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Wingate swept the season series from Tusculum, rallying from double-digit halftime deficits in both games -- a 64-59 victory at Cuddy Arena on Dec. 20 and a 66-62 win at Pioneer Arena on Jan. 5. Wingate leads the all-time series 36-15 and has won 20 of 25 all-time meetings at Cuddy Arena. Tusculum has lost six straight at Wingate since a 57-56 win on Dec. 13, 2015.
South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Championship
Quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 2
#8 Tusculum at #1 Wingate, 5:30 p.m.
#5 Limestone at #4 Anderson, 7:00 p.m.
#7 UVA Wise at #2 Carson-Newman, 7:00 p.m.
#6 Newberry at #3 Catawba, 7:00 p.m.
Semifinals: Saturday, March 5 (Timmons Arena, Greenville, S.C.)
Tusculum/Wingate winner vs. Limestone/Anderson winner, Noon
UVA Wise/Carson-Newman winner vs. Newberry/Catawba winner, 2:30 p.m.
Finals: Sunday, March 6 (Timmons Arena, Greenville, S.C.)
Semifinal winners, 1:00 p.m.
