GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Mars Hill University erased a seven-goal first-quarter deficit and picked up a 17-12 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
The Lions (5-0, 1-0 SAC) received four goals and two assists from Sydney Joyce and four goals from Haley Stallings and outshot the Pioneers 31-11 over the final three quarters and 43-22 for the game. Maria Fabrizio had three goals and three assists and Kiersten Foust had three goals and two assists for Mars Hill in the victory.
Tia Tuininga led the Pioneers (2-3, 0-1 SAC) with five goals and an assist while Lucy Brewer and Jessica Spiegel scored two goals apiece. Emily Youngblood had a goal and an assist and Megann McKinney and Kamryn McNeil each scored for the Pioneers, who were 17-for-27 in clears and had 22 turnovers.
Tusculum opened the scoring just 16 seconds into the first quarter on a goal from Brewer, and Tuininga followed 40 seconds later for a 2-0 Pioneer lead. Tuininga would score three goals, Spiegel twice and Youngblood once as the Pioneers went up 7-0 on a free-position goal from Spiegel with 2:05 left in the first quarter. Mars Hill would come to life in the final two minutes as goals from Joyce, Fabrizio and Foust in a span of 78 seconds would cut the Tusculum lead to 7-3 after a quarter.
Mars Hill continued its rally in the second quarter, as Joyce, Fabrizio and Foust teamed up again to bring the Lions within 7-6 with 7:34 left in the first half. Brewer stopped the Mars Hill run and gave Tusculum an 8-6 lead with 6:40 left, but Alexa Tazzetta and Foust scored in the final four minutes to tie the game at 8-8 at halftime.
Tusculum took its final lead of the day at 9-8 on a goal from Tuininga just 38 seconds into the third quarter, but Joyce tied the game at 9-9 two minutes later before back-to-back goals from Stallings 48 seconds apart gave the Lions an 11-9 lead with 9:21 to go in the third. A goal from McNeil brought the Pioneers within 11-10 with 2:48 left, but Tazzetta responded nine seconds later and Stallings got her third of the quarter with 1:33 left as Mars Hill led 13-10 heading to the fourth.
The Lions' run would reach five in a row as Joyce, Fabrizio and Tiffany Saavedra scored to push Mars Hill up 16-10 with 6:41 left. A goal from McKinney with 5:50 left was answered by Stallings with 4:43 to play, and Tuininga closed the scoring for the Pioneers with 1:14 remaining.
Tuniniga and Youngblood had four draw controls apiece to lead the Pioneers, while Leighann Yudin had a pair of caused turnovers on defense. Morgan Correia led Tusculum with five ground balls, with four by McNeil and three from Harley Smith. For Mars Hill, Foust had a game-high nine draw controls and Joyce added seven, while Fabrizio had five caused turnovers to go along with three draw controls and four ground balls. Tazzetta and Saavedra each had four ground balls for the Lions.
Taylor Floyd played all 60 minutes in goal for the Pioneers and finished with 13 saves, one shy of her career high. For Mars Hill, Lauren Bryner started in goal and allowed four goals without a save in 3 1/2 minutes, followed by Rebeca Sanchez with three saves in 11 1/2 minutes. Virginia Joy played the final three quarters and gave up five goals while making four saves.
Tusculum will host Florida Tech in a non-conference game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Pioneer Field. The Panthers are off to a 2-0 start ahead of Sunday's non-conference matchup with Davis & Elkins. Wednesday's match will be the first of two out-of-state contests this season for the Panthers, who have eight of their 14 games at home in Melbourne.
