DAHLONEGA, Ga. --- North Georgia outscored Tusculum 20-9 in the fourth quarter and came away with an 81-71 victory in non-conference women's basketball Friday evening on the opening day of the Nighthawk Classic.
Ansley Hall scored a game-high 22 points and Emily Trushel finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for the Nighthawks (2-1), who trailed by nine points late in the third quarter before outscoring the Pioneers (0-1) by a 30-11 margin over the final 12 1/2 minutes.
Freshman Ni'Kiah Chesterfield scored 13 points and had five steals in her collegiate debut for the Pioneers, while Maddison Zugna added 12 points in 11 minutes off the bench. Faith Silva added nine points and Delana DeBusk contributed a career-best nine points for the Pioneers, who had overcome a 13-point deficit in the second quarter to take the lead. Tusculum shot 3-for-13 from the field and had five turnovers in the decisive final quarter.
Chesterfield shot 5-for-12 from the field and went 3-for-4 from the foul line for the Pioneers, who shot 33.8 percent (25-for-74) from the floor in the game and 4-for-19 from three-point range. Tusculum was 17-for-24 at the foul line, but was outrebounded 52-38 by North Georgia in the game.
Carly Fahey had a game-high 10 rebounds for the Nighthawks and added seven points, with Lexi Pierce also reaching double figures for North Georgia with 11 points. The Nighthawks turned the ball over 27 times against the Pioneers, with Tusculum turning the miscues into 19 points. North Georgia shot 43.8 percent (28-for-64) from the floor but went 19-for-28 at the foul line.
Tusculum grabbed an early 5-4 lead as DeBusk hit a three-pointer with just under two minutes gone in the first quarter. Two foul shots from Zugna tied the game at 8-8 with 7:25 left in the period, but a 9-0 run from North Georgia gave the Nighthawks a 17-8 lead following a Pierce layup with 4:22 left in the quarter. A three-pointer from Silva and four points from Zugna were part of a 13-4 run that closed the quarter and left the teams tied at 21-21.
The Nighthawks would open the second quarter with 13 straight points, including three three-pointers, while the Pioneers missed their first 14 shots from the field until a three-point play from Chesterfield with 4:05 left in the half. Tusculum would score nine straight points on putbacks from Simona Henshaw and Zugna and a layup from Alyssa Lindsey to cut the deficit to 34-30 with 2:39 remaining in the half. Back-to-back buckets from Chesterfield brought the Pioneers back to within 36-34 with 1:48 to play, and a three-pointer from Silva would leave Tusculum down 38-37 with 1:03 to go.
Tusculum trailed 39-38 at halftime despite shooting 31.8 percent (14-for-44) from the field as a team, including 3-for-12 from three-point range. Zugna led the Pioneers with 10 points in the half with Chesterfield adding seven points and six from Silva. Hall paced the Nighthawks with 12 points in the first half, with seven points from Trushel and Kaylee Sticker. North Georgia shot 41.2 percent (14-for-34) but turned the ball over 14 times which led to 10 Tusculum points.
The Pioneers took the lead on the first possession of the second half on a basket by Chesterfield, and stretched their lead to 50-45 on a three-point play by Chesterfield with 6:31 left in the third quarter. Two foul shots from Henshaw and a putback by Lexi Patty put Tusculum up 54-47 with 5:26 left to go in the third, and a three-pointer from Jenna Kallenberg gave the Pioneers a 57-49 edge with 3:26 remaining in the period. Three free throws from Silva stretched Tusculum's lead to 60-51 with 2:39 to go, but North Georgia finished the quarter with a 10-2 run to pull within 62-61 after three.
The Nighthawks would score the first four points of the fourth quarter until a putback by DeBusk brought Tusculum back within 65-64 with 7:50 remaining. The Pioneers tied the game at 66-66 on two free throws by Aaliyah Vananda with 6:30 to play, but the Nighthawks took advantage of fouls by the Pioneers to score five at the stripe and go up 71-68 with 4:41 to go. North Georgia went five minutes between baskets until a layup by Lizzie Campbell put the Nighthawks ahead 73-68 with 4:22 remaining. North Georgia finished the game with a 12-3 run, going 8-for-13 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
DeBusk's nine points came on 4-for-8 shooting, including a three-pointer, and surpassed her previous high of five points set against Wingate on Jan. 14 of last season. Patty had five points and a team-high six rebounds along with a pair of steals, while Kallenberg chipped in with five points, a career-best five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 25 minutes of playing time.
Dasha Cannon had nine points and seven rebounds for North Georgia, whose bench was led by seven points and three rebounds in 17 minutes by Sticker. The Nighthawks were 1-for-10 from three-point range in the second half, but outrebounded the Pioneers 13-6 in the fourth quarter.
Tusculum will finish up action at the Nighthawk Classic on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Clayton State, which fell to 0-3 with a 77-64 loss to Lincoln Memorial in Friday's opening game. All three of the Lakers' losses have come against South Atlantic Conference opponents, including a pair last weekend at home to UVA Wise (69-64 in overtime) and Anderson (80-60).
