GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University raced to a 35-point halftime lead and went on to claim a 92-51 victory over Coker University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
Mya Belton hit four three-pointers and scored a season-high 18 points for the 10th-ranked Pioneers (9-0, 9-0 SAC), who are off to the best start in program history with nine consecutive wins to open the season. Jalia Arnwine added 17 points, Maddie Sutton recorded her Division II-leading seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Deidre Cheremond scored a season-best 15 points off the bench in the victory.
Ahlea Myers led the Cobras (3-8, 3-7 SAC) with 12 points and six rebounds, but Coker shot just 12.2 percent (5-for-41) in the field in the first half as Tusculum built a 49-14 lead at intermission. For the game, Coker shot 22.7 percent (17-for-75) from the field and was outrebounded 57-41 by Tusculum in the Cobras' 10th straight loss to the Pioneers.
Belton, making her first career start, shot 7-for-11 from the field and 4-for-7 from three-point range in 19 minutes of playing time. Behind Belton off the bench, Aliyah Miller added nine points, eight rebounds and three steals in 23 minutes as Tusculum's reserves outscored the Coker bench 31-13.
Sutton was 3-for-3 from the field and 9-for-12 at the foul line for her third straight double-double and seventh of the year. Cheremond, who played a season-high 14 minutes, went 5-for-8 from the field and 5-for-6 from the line while adding five rebounds despite not entering the game until midway through the third quarter.
Marta Rodrigues contributed seven points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 34 minutes while Brianna Dixon filled the scoresheet with four points, nine rebounds, a career-high five assists and a season-best three blocked shots in 33 minutes of action for the Pioneers, whose 12 straight wins dating to last season is the program's longest winning streak since 2007-08. Tusculum's nine straight wins is its longest in a single season since 10 consecutive victories in the 2010-11 campaign.
Tusculum shot 44.3 percent (27-for-61) from the floor and 11-for-35 from three-point range in the contest. The Pioneers also went 27-for-35 (77.1 percent) from the foul line and outscored the Cobras 14-5 in second-chance points.
The Pioneers never trailed, scoring the first nine points on two free throws from Sutton, a basket from Sutton, a layup from Belton and a three-pointer by Rodrigues which came with 6:53 left in the first quarter. Tusculum added a 12-0 run to take a 24-4 lead on a three-pointer by Miller with 3:18 left in the quarter, and the Pioneers held a 28-9 advantage after one period.
A third first-half run for the Pioneers of 18 in a row was capped by a Sutton free throw with 4:28 left in the first half. Coker went scoreless for 7 1/2 minutes until Raya Coley converted a three-point play with 3:53 left in the half. The Cobras shot just 2-for-25 from the field in the second quarter as the Pioneers carried a 49-14 lead into halftime.
Arnwine and Belton led Tusculum with 12 points apiece in the first half while Sutton added 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Pioneers shot 50 percent (15-for-30) from the field in the half and 6-for-18 from three-point range, aided by Rodrigues and Miller who had seven points each in the half. Coker was led by Haley McClure who had five points and five rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench in the opening half.
Coker caught fire from three-point range in the third quarter, hitting five of its first seven attempts of the period to pull within 63-33 on a three from Valicia Demeritte with 4:33 left in the quarter. Cheremond, who entered the game with 5:53 remaining in the period, hit 3-for-5 from the field and 5-for-6 from the line for 11 points in the quarter as Tusculum led 78-38 entering the fourth.
Tusculum took its largest lead of the game at 89-42 on a three-pointer from Jordan Rogers with 3:35 left, before the Cobras closed the game by scoring nine of the last 12 points.
Myers was the only player to finish in double figures for Coker with 12 points. Abigail Keesling had nine points and a team-high eight rebounds, and Coley finished with nine points, five rebounds and three assists. Coker ended the game 7-for-31 (22.6 percent) from three-point range and went 10-for-17 from the foul line.
The Pioneers will host Carson-Newman in their only regular-season meeting on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Tusculum swept the Eagles in three meetings last season, including an 81-73 victory in the SAC Championship semifinals. The Eagles (4-0, 4-0 SAC), ranked 23rd in this week's D2SIDA Top 25, defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 91-73 on Saturday in their first action since Dec. 13.
