ANDERSON, S.C. --- Tusculum University scored seven straight points to break a 58-58 tie in the final two minutes and defeat Anderson University 65-61 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
Marta Rodrigues scored the go-ahead basket with 1:39 left and assisted on two more buckets down the stretch for the Pioneers (7-0, 7-0 SAC), who continued their best conference start since 1994-95 and their longest overall winning streak since 2010-11 by snapping a nine-game losing skid in the Abney Athletic Center and breaking Anderson's 37-game regular-season homecourt winning streak. Tusculum's last win at Anderson was a 72-71 victory on Jan. 18, 2012 while Anderson's last regular-season home loss was a 56-51 setback to Lenoir-Rhyne on Jan. 20, 2018.
Maddie Sutton finished with 13 points and a career-high 19 rebounds while Jalia Arnwine added 13 points for the Pioneers. Mya Belton contributed 12 points and five rebounds off the bench for Tusculum, which led by 11 points early in the second half before Anderson rallied to tie the game in the fourth. Rodrigues had seven points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Pioneers while Kirsten Click contributed nine points by hitting three of the team's eight three-pointers in the win.
Samantha Michel led the Trojans (6-4, 5-3 SAC) with 14 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots in 23 minutes off the bench. Taylor Hair added 12 points and J'Mya Cutter chipped in with 10 for Anderson, which shot 5-for-21 (23.8 percent) from three-point range and 32.8 percent (19-for-58) overall from the field in the game in the first meeting between the programs since last year's SAC Championship game, won by Tusculum 61-49.
Sutton, who entered the game ranked third in Division II in rebounding at 13.5 per game, broke her career high of 17 boards set against Carson-Newman on Feb. 19, 2020 and equaled against Limestone on Dec. 9. Sutton has reached double figures in rebounds in all seven games and recorded her nation-leading fifth double-double of the season. Belton's 12 points matched her season high for the Pioneers, who shot 40 percent (24-for-60) from the field while outscoring Anderson 30-20 in the paint.
Tusculum trailed 6-5 after two foul shots from Jalyn Spurlin with 6:02 left in the first quarter, but responded with an 8-2 run to go on top 13-8 on a coast-to-coast layup from Belton with 2:05 left in the quarter. A layup just before the buzzer by Sutton gave Tusculum a 16-9 lead at the end of the first, as Anderson shot just 3-for-18 (16.7 percent) from the field as a team in the period.
The Pioneers kept their lead through long-range shooting, as three-pointers from Arnwine, Jordan Rogers and Belton helped Tusculum to a 27-19 lead with 4:42 left in the first half. An 8-0 run was capped by a three-pointer from Click which gave the Pioneers a 32-19 lead with 1:55 left in the half. Rodrigues canned a layup with four seconds to play to send the Pioneers to the locker room with a 34-24 advantage.
Arnwine and Belton shared the team lead in scoring for the Pioneers in the first half with seven points each, with six from Click and five by Sutton along with a game-high 11 rebounds. The Pioneers shot 42.4 percent (14-for-33) from the field and went 5-for-13 from long range, while outrebounding the Trojans 25-19. Michel led Anderson with six points, three rebounds and four blocked shots in the opening half, but the Trojans were 8-for-31 (25.8 percent) and missed all 10 of their three-point attempts in the half.
The Trojans came alive from beyond the arc in the third quarter, as Alexis Tate hit the first attempt of the half in the opening minute. A foul shot by Sutton gave Tusculum a 38-27 lead with 7:39 left in the quarter, but Anderson ran off six straight to pull within 38-33 on a Spurlin free throw with 6:07 remaining. The Pioneers went more than three minutes without a field goal until a three from Arnwine gave Tusculum a 41-33 lead with 4:40 to go in the period. Anderson then went on an 13-3 run to take a 46-44 lead on a layup by Michel with 41 seconds left in the quarter, but a Belton three with 17 seconds left sent the Pioneers to the fourth with a 47-46 advantage.
Both team scuffled from the field to start the fourth quarter, combining to go scoreless for more than 2 1/2 minutes while tied at 51-51 until a Spurlin jumper gave Anderson a 53-51 lead with 5:30 to go. A three-pointer from Cutter tied the game at 58-58 with 2:01 to go, but Rodrigues restored Tusculum's lead at 60-58 on a running layup with 1:39 left. Arnwine then pushed the Pioneers on top 62-58 on a back-door layup with 55 seconds to go, and Rodrigues found Sutton alone underneath for the clinching hoop with 20 seconds left.
Rogers contributed a season-high five points in 11 minutes off the bench for the Pioneers, who went 9-for-15 from the foul line as a team compared to 18-for-24 for Anderson. Michel was a perfect 6-for-6 at the stripe for the Trojans, who received nine points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench from Britney Bailey. Spurlin finished with eight points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes for the Trojans, who were outrebounded 42-41 by the Pioneers.
Tusculum has won seven straight games to start the season, the Pioneers' longest in-season win streak since winning seven in a row from Dec. 16, 2018 through Jan. 12, 2019. Dating to the end of last season, the Pioneers have picked up 10 consecutive victories which is the Pioneers' longest win streak since Jan. 12 through Feb. 12, 2011. That 10-game streak was snapped with a 67-65 loss at Anderson on Feb. 16, 2011.
The Pioneers are scheduled to host Mars Hill in their next contest on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at Pioneer Arena. Tusculum has won six straight meetings with Mars Hill, by an average of 39.7 points per game.
