GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- A 17-2 third-quarter run sparked Tusculum University to a 63-39 victory over Emory & Henry College in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday evening at Pioneer Arena.
Jami Tham scored 16 points and pulled a career-high 20 rebounds, Mya Belton added 13 points, 12 rebounds and a career-best six blocked shots and Blayre Shultz scored a game-high 18 points for the Pioneers (11-1, 4-0 SAC), who shot just 34.3 percent (23-for-67) from the field for the game but went 11-for-19 from the floor in the third quarter en route to their ninth consecutive victory, all by double digits.
Amaya Lee had eight points and seven rebounds to lead the Wasps (5-5, 2-1 SAC), who had won three straight games including conference victories over Limestone and Lincoln Memorial, but shot 25 percent (15-for-60) from the field and 4-for-24 (16.7 percent) from three-point range. Tusculum was just 2-for-23 (8.7 percent) from deep but the Pioneers outscored the Wasps 42-20 in the paint.
Tusculum, which entered the game leading Division II in rebounding margin at plus-14.8 per game, enjoyed a 59-34 advantage on the glass against Emory & Henry. Tham's double-double was her NCAA-leading 12th in as many games this season, while Belton recorded her second in a row. The Pioneers grabbed 18 of their rebounds on the offensive glass, converting them into 15 second-chance points.
Tham, the two-time reigning SAC Player of the Week, surpassed her previous season high of 18 rebounds set against Regent on Nov. 18 and matched against Lincoln Memorial on Dec. 3, and broke her career high of 19 boards set against UNC Pembroke on Feb. 22, 2022 while she played at Barton. Tham's 20-rebound performance is the seventh of the season in Division II, and moves her within nine rebounds of joining Klaire Kirsch of Nebraska-Kearney as the only active Division II players with 1,000 career boards. Tham, who matched her career high with five steals, leads all active Division II players with 45 career double-doubles.
Belton's previous career high for blocked shots was five, set three times including against UVA Wise on Dec. 7. Belton also equaled her career best with four steals, marking the seventh time this season that Belton has had two or more steals and blocks in a game. Her six blocked shots moved Belton past Catherine Hintz (111 from 2008-11) into fourth place on the Tusculum career blocks list with 112.
Shultz, who led Tusculum in scoring for the second straight game, scored 13 points in the first half as Tusculum led 27-19 at intermission. From there, the Pioneers outscored the Wasps 46-20 and led by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter on their way to their second 11-1 start in the last three seasons. Tusculum also held its eighth opponent to 50 points or less this season, after entering the game ranked second in Division II in scoring defense at 49.3 points per game.
Emory & Henry had its only lead of the game at 2-0 following a bucket by Brylee Jones on the first possession, but a three-pointer from Shultz sparked an 11-0 run that gave Tusculum an 11-2 lead on a layup by Deidre Cheremond with 2:35 left in the quarter. The Wasps' scoreless drought would surpass eight minutes before Grace Glance hit a three-pointer with 1:23 left to bring the Wasps within 11-5. A Belton layup would leave Tusculum holding a 13-5 lead after one quarter despite shooting 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from the floor in the period.
The Pioneers built their lead to 15-5 on a layup by Belton in the first minute of the second quarter, and two foul shots from Tham gave Tusculum its largest lead of the opening half at 21-10 with 6:05 left. The Pioneers would endure a three-minute scoring drought as Emory & Henry pulled within 21-15 on a foul shot by Glance with 3:26 to go in the half, but four free throws by Shultz in the final 2:05 would send Tusculum to intermission with a 27-19 advantage.
Shultz was the only player in double figures in the first half with 13 points, while Tham had six points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Tusculum shot 25.7 percent (9-for-35) from the field and just 1-for-12 from beyond the arc, while Emory & Henry hit 25 percent (7-for-28) from the field and 2-for-13 from deep. Lee led the Wasps with five points and six rebounds in the opening half.
Tusculum led 33-24 following a three-pointer from Lee with 7:44 left in the third quarter, but from there it would be all Pioneers as Tham scored 10 points in a span of 5 1/2 minutes and added five rebounds to help Tusculum build a 50-26 lead after three quarter. Tusculum dominated in the paint in the third quarter, scoring all 11 of its field goals on layups and short jumpers.
The Pioneers' lead would not drop below 22 points in the fourth quarter, with Belton giving Tusculum its largest lead of the evening at 60-32 on a three-pointer with 3:54 to go. Cheremond scored six of her eight points in the game in the final quarter but Tusculum shot just 3-for-13 from the field in the period.
Sophie Henry finished with two points on 1-for-4 shooting but had a season-high seven rebounds and shared the team lead with three assists for the Pioneers, while Alyssa Walker had six points and three assists without a turnover in 27 minutes.
Emma Santoro shared the team lead in scoring for the Wasps with eight points to go along with four rebounds, while Breanna Yarber tallied a team-high eight rebounds and scored six points. Jones finished with four points and a rebounds in 22 minutes while Glance had four points, five boards and three assists in 20 minutes off the Emory & Henry bench.
Tusculum entered the week ranked fifth in the D2SIDA Southeast Region poll and receiving votes in the WBCA Division II national poll. The Pioneers will be seeking their first 10-game winning streak since the 2010-11 season Southern Wesleyan visits Pioneer Arena on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Warriors lost 92-67 at home to Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday night to fall to 2-9 on the season.
