ANDERSON, S.C. --- Anderson University shot 55.1 percent from the field, including 10-for-14 from three-point range, as the Trojans defeated Tusculum University 80-67 in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Wednesday evening at the Abney Athletic Center.
Jalyn Spurlin scored a career-high 27 points and Brittney Stafford added a season-best 25 points for the Trojans (15-12, 9-8 SAC), who built a 10-point lead by the midway point of the first quarter and led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter, with the Pioneers getting no closer than eight points in the second half.
Jami Tham led the Pioneers (20-7, 11-6 SAC) with 27 points and Blayre Shultz added 17 for Tusculum, which shot 39.1 percent (25-for-64) from the field and 7-for-24 from three-point range as a team. The Pioneers forced the Trojans into 22 turnovers and scored 24 points off those turnovers, but could not stop Anderson from long range as the Trojans were 5-for-5 from beyond the arc in the second quarter.
Spurlin shot 11-for-14 from the field and 3-for-5 from the foul line to surpass her previous season high of 22 points set Dec. 17 against Lenoir-Rhyne and her career best of 24 set against Limestone on Dec. 2, 2020. Stafford was 7-for-13 from the field, including three three-pointers, and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the foul line to break the 20-point mark for the first time this season.
Tham posted her seventh 20-point game of the season by going 10-for-20 from the floor and 7-for-10 from the foul line. She added seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Shultz was 7-for-14 from the floor, with two three-pointers, and had four rebounds and five steals for the Pioneers, who learned Wednesday afternoon that they were ranked ninth in the first official NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings of the season.
Britney Bailey posted a double-double for Anderson with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Diamond McDowell had nine points and nine rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Anderson had a 37-30 advantage in rebounding over Tusculum, though the Pioneers had 15 offensive rebounds which led to 15 second-chance points.
With the loss, Tusculum has secured second place in the SAC Mountain Division and will host Lenoir-Rhyne, the third seed from the SAC Piedmont Division, in a SAC Championship tournament quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 1 at 5:30 p.m. at Pioneer Arena.
A basket from Spurlin off the opening tap and a three-pointer from McDowell sent the Trojans to a quick 5-0 lead, before Tham got Tusculum on the board with a layup with 8:53 to go in the opening quarter. Tham would score Tusculum's first six points, but by then Anderson was ahead 14-6 as McDowell hit another three and Spurlin had 11 points in the first seven minutes. A basket by Stafford in the closing seconds of the quarter gave the Trojans a 23-13 after one.
Tusculum had a pair of 7-0 runs in the second quarter, the latter bringing the Pioneers within 33-29 on a basket by Tham with 3:49 left in the half. However, the Trojans would close the half with a 13-3 run that included two three-pointers from Stafford as Anderson carried a 46-32 lead to intermission.
Shultz led the Pioneers with 14 points in the first half on 6-for-10 shooting, while Tham shot 5-for-9 from the field and had 12 points. The rest of the Pioneers combined to go 2-for-15 from the floor in the half as Tusculum was at 38.2 percent (13-for-34) as a team. Stafford was 6-for-9 from the field and hit three three-pointers for 15 points, and Spurlin had 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting to help the Trojans go 69.2 percent (18-for-26) from the field and 8-for-10 from beyond the arc in the half.
Tusculum trailed 53-34 following a basket from Spurlin with 8:26 left in the third quarter, but the Pioneers responded with a 9-0 run that included a three-pointer from Mya Belton and was capped by two foul shots from Tham that cut the lead to 53-43 with 4:24 left in the period. A foul shot from Belton with 2:11 left brought the Pioneers within eight at 56-48, but another late bucket from Stafford would send the Trojans to the fourth with a 61-49 lead.
The Pioneers were able to cut the margin to 61-52 on a free throw from Shultz with 9:03 remaining, but six straight points from the Trojans gave Anderson a 67-52 lead with 7:35 to go. A layup from Xan Rowland with 5:29 remaining would be the final field goal of the game for Anderson, which was 0-for-2 from the field in the final five minutes but went 12-for-14 at the foul line in the fourth.
Belton finished with 10 points and seven rebounds along with five assists for the Pioneers, while Sophie Henry had five points and three rebounds. Alyssa Walker added four points, four rebounds and three assists and Deidre Cheremond collected four points in 11 minutes off the Pioneer bench.
Tusculum will conclude the regular season at Catawba on Saturday, Feb. 25 beginning at 2 p.m. The Indians, who have already clinched the SAC Piedmont Division title, carry an eight-game winning streak and a 23-4 record into Saturday's tilt, along with the number-one spot in the Southeast Region rankings. Catawba, which is 13-0 at Goodman Gymnasium this season, defeated Coker 88-72 Wednesday night.
