GAFFNEY, S.C. – Playing for the third time in six days, the Limestone University women's basketball team went 11 minutes without a field goal, missing 16 straight shots at one point, and posted a season-worst 29-percent showing from the floor in a lopsided 70-46 loss to Tusculum University on Wednesday.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Tusculum 70, Limestone 46
Records: Tusculum (5-0, 5-0), Limestone (2-3, 2-3)
Location: Timken Center
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Junior Reagan McCray (Davie, Fla.) registered a game-high 21 points behind five triples
- Graduate Lynadia Whiting (Waterbury, Conn.) grabbed 10 boards to go with four points
- Freshman Reagan Kargo (Summerfield, N.C.) added six points and three steals
- Senior Josie Long (Madison, Fla.) chipped in five points, five rebounds, and two steals
- Junior Vonshayla Webb (Travelers Rest, S.C.) pulled down seven rebounds
- Limestone went just 16-of-56 (29%) from the field and 7-of-23 (30%) from long range
- Defensively, the Saints surrendered 13 three-pointers by the Tusculum offense
- Limestone forced 23 turnovers on defense, but turned the ball over 20 times on offense
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
McCray opened the scoring with a three from the top of the key, giving the Saints a quick 3-0 edge, but the Pioneers responded with a 12-0 spurt over the next three minutes. Tusculum went a perfect 5-for-5 during the run, but Limestone would answer with seven straight to cut the lead to 12-10 with 4:26 left.
Whiting hit a pullup to spark the surge for the Blue and Gold before Kargo connected from long distance, but the visitors hit back-to-back triples to extend the margin to 18-10 a few moments later. McCray took it strong to the hoop in the late stages, helping the Saints trim the cushion to 18-12 at the end of the first.
Second Quarter
Like the first quarter, McCray hit a three-pointer from the top of the key – this one in transition – before Kargo set her feet for another long-range bomb to pull the Saints to within 21-18 early on. However, also like the opening period, Tusculum strung together seven straight points to make it 27-18 at the media.
Limestone followed up with three of four from the charity stripe, but the Pioneers opened a double-digit lead, 34-21, by closing the half on another 7-0 run. The Saints struggled to get anything to fall over the first 20 minutes, going just 7-of-29 (24%) from the field, while Tusculum went 13-of-32 (41%) in the half.
Third Quarter
The Saints snapped a streak of 16 straight field goal misses, a stretch that lasted 11 minutes of game play, when McCray hit a transition three. That seemed to wake the offense up for Limestone as Whiting and Webb both hit layups, but Tusculum kept its hot hand as the visitors led 41-28 at the midway point.
Sophomore
Destiny Jackson (Severn, Md.) got a turnaround hook to fall in the lane, trimming the lead to 41-30 with 3:26 remaining in the period, but that would be the closest things would get as the Pioneers quickly expanded its cushion by drilling three straight three-pointers to close the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Tusculum made it a 53-32 game with a triple to start the fourth, but a nice move by Long down on the post and another long-range strike by McCray highlighted a quick 5-0 spurt for the Saints. McCray nailed her fifth three-ball of the game at the 5:31-mark, but the Pioneers rattled off a 13-0 counterattack.
Trailing by 28, junior
Quin Byrd (Fountain Inn, S.C.) got a floater to fall in the lane – her first bucket after missing the past two weeks and first four games of the year due to contact tracing – before Jackson, in just her second game back from quarantine, scored off an offensive rebound in the closing seconds.
TURNING POINT
Limestone withstood an early 12-0 run by the Pioneers and only trailed the visitors 21-18 early in the second quarter. However, the Saints would miss 16 straight shots in an 11-minute stretch that spanned the second and third periods, allowing Tusculum to pull away for the lopsided decision.
NOTABLES
- With five three-pointers, McCray passed Ayshia McNeil for ninth all-time in career triples
- The Blue and Gold were held to less than 50 points for the first time since the 2017-18 season
- Limestone's 46 points on Wednesday is its lowest single-game total since scoring just 44 against West Texas A&M in the 2014 NCAA Elite Eight
- The Saints and Pioneers squared off for the only the second time since January 14, 1984
UP NEXT
Looking for its first SAC road win, the Blue and Gold returns to action on Saturday, December 12 at 2 p.m. with a trip to Jefferson City, Tenn. to take on Carson-Newman University.
