GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Ni'Kiah Chesterfield made her first 13 shot attempts and finished with a career-high 34 points to lead Tusculum University to a 95-78 victory over the University of South Carolina Aiken in women's basketball Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
Chesterfield finished 15-for-16 from the field and broke her previous career high of 27 points set against Newberry on February 3, 2024. Her 93.3 percent shooting is the highest in a single game in Division II this season and second-best in program history, behind a 10-for-10 effort from Jasmine Gunn against Virginia Intermont on Dec. 30, 2009.
Jalyn Spurlin added a season-best 22 points off the bench and Abbi Douglas had a season-high 15 points as the Pioneers (2-2) shot 53.8 percent (35-for-65) from the field. Tusculum has shot 50 percent or better in three straight games for the first time since the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional from March 12-15, 2010.
Five players scored in double figures for the Pacers (0-4), who shot 32.9 percent (26-for-79) from the field but had 31 offensive rebounds as a team. Destiny Harman and Riley Simmons had 12 points and four rebounds apiece, Rhiannon Saller and Sami Bardonaro each had 11 points and eight boards and Serena Baker added 11 points and seven rebounds for USC Aiken, which had a 57-34 rebound advantage in the game.
The Pioneers led 55-41 at halftime and by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter. Tusculum scored 25 points off 22 USC Aiken turnovers and outscored the Pacers 20-6 on fast-break points. The Pioneers were 8-for-21 on three-pointers and shot 17-for-29 (58.6 percent) at the foul line as a team.
USC Aiken took its only lead of the game on a basket by Jaya Nelson on the opening possession. Tusculum responded with a three-pointer from Jenna Kallenberg and scored seven straight points to go up 7-2 with two minutes gone. A 9-0 run was capped by a three-point play by Spurlin with 1:54 remaining, and a layup from Douglas in the closing seconds gave Tusculum a 31-19 lead after one quarter.
Tusculum stretched its lead to 40-20 on a basket by Spurlin with 7:22 left in the first half, but USC Aiken was able to chip away with 13 on two free throws by Kendall Parker with 1:21 left that left the Pioneers with a 51-38 lead. Douglas again scored the final points of the period in the closing seconds as Tusculum carried a 55-41 advantage to halftime.
Chesterfield led all players with 18 points on 8-for-8 shooting in the first half, while Spurlin had 12 as the Pioneers shot 55.6 percent (20-for-36) from the field and 6-for-14 from three-point range. Bardonaro had a team-high 11 points off the bench for the Pacers, who had 17 offensive rebounds but shot 32.5 percent (13-for-40) from the field.
A three-pointer by Simmons with 3:26 left in the third quarter brought the Pacers within 65-55, but the Pioneers responded with a 10-3 run that included six points from Spurlin as Tusculum led 77-59 after three.
Chesterfield would stretch the Pioneers to their largest lead at 86-64 on a jumper with 6:07 remaining, and scored on a putback of her only miss with 3:44 to go for an 88-71 Tusculum lead. Chesterfield wrapped up her afternoon with a three-pointer on the Pioneers' next possession, and the teams would clear the benches in the final minute.
Kallenberg was 3-for-4 from three-point range and had nine points along with five rebounds and a career-high four assists in 24 minutes. Carleigh Wilson finished with just seven points, but had three rebounds and tied her career highs with three blocked shots and four steals for the Pioneers.
Tusculum will open South Atlantic Conference play on Wednesday, November 20 at Carson-Newman. The Eagles, ranked 14th in the WBCA preseason Division II poll and seventh in the first D2CSC poll of the season, improved to 3-0 with a 92-72 win over Lenoir-Rhyne in their conference opener on Saturday afternoon.
