HARROGATE, Tenn. --- Jalia Arnwine scored the go-ahead basket with 11.7 seconds left as Tusculum University remained undefeated with a 57-53 win at Lincoln Memorial University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action Saturday at Tex Turner Arena.
Maddie Sutton recorded her third double-double in as many games for the Pioneers (3-0, 3-0 SAC), finishing with a team-high 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as Tusculum earned its fourth straight victory over Lincoln Memorial (2-1, 2-1 SAC) and opened the season with three consecutive wins for the fourth year in a row.
Lauren Flowers scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the second half for the Railsplitters, who shot 25.0 percent (7-for-28) from the field in the second half and 35.4 percent (17-for-48) for the game. Lexi Kiser added 14 points for LMU, which went 17-for-19 from the foul line as a team but just 2-for-12 from three-point range in the contest.
Sutton's double-double was the 12th of her career, as she became the first Pioneer to register double-doubles in each of the first three games of a season since Brooke Underwood did so in points and assists in 2006-07. The last Pioneer with three straight points-rebounds double-doubles to begin a season was Whitley Campbell in 2000-01.
Marta Rodrigues also finished in double figures with 10 points and eight assists while playing all 40 minutes for the Pioneers. Aliyah Miller, who entered the game leading the SAC in scoring at 22.5 points per game, attempted just four shots and finished with six points and five rebounds to go along with three steals.
Saturday's matchup was the first meeting between Tusculum and former head coach Devan Carter, who took over at Lincoln Memorial in the spring after five seasons and 79 wins with the Pioneers including the 2020 SAC Championship title. First-year Tusculum head coach Meagan Price equaled Carter by winning her first three games on the Pioneer sidelines, a feat also accomplished by Missy Tiber (2005-06) and Randy Milligan (1997-98).
Tusculum trailed nearly the entire first half before tying the game at 27-27 at intermission, then led nearly the entire second half before LMU tied the game at 51-51 on two foul shots by Kiser with 1:22 left. The Pioneers went back ahead 53-51 on a layup by Brianna Dixon with 55.0 seconds to play, only to see the Railsplitters answer on a bucket by Maggie Jachimczuk with 37.5 seconds left to even the score at 53-53.
Arnwine connected off the glass from short range with 11.7 seconds to play to give the Pioneers the lead at 55-53. LMU did not call time out and went immediately for the tying shot, but Flowers misfired with under four seconds left and Sutton collected the rebound with 2.5 seconds on the clock. After three fouls brought the Railsplitters over the limit, Sutton sank the clinching foul shots with 1.3 seconds to play.
Tusculum led 4-2 just 45 seconds into the game on baskets by Dixon and Arnwine, but both teams would go scoreless for the next three minutes before a hoop by Addi Kirkpatrick brought LMU into a 4-4 tie. A 9-2 Railsplitter run was capped by two free throws from Flowers with 4:14 left in the quarter, while Tusculum would go without a field goal for the final 2:23 of the period and trail 17-14 after one.
Lincoln Memorial took its largest lead at 22-16 following two free throws from Lindsay Proffitt with 6:52 left int he first half. Tusculum fought back to tie the game 27-27 on a layup by Sutton with 34 seconds to go in the opening half.
Sutton led the Pioneers with eight points and seven rebounds in the first half, while Arnwine had five points and Rodrigues added two points and five assists without a turnover. The Pioneers shot 40.7 percent (11-for-27) from the field in the first half and 3-for-12 from beyond the arc. Kiser paced the Railsplitters with eight points in the first half as LMU went 10-for-20 from the field and 2-for-5 from long range, but was outrebounded by Tusculum 16-11.
Tusculum grabbed its first lead since the opening minutes when Rodrigues hit a three-pointer for a 30-29 Pioneer lead with 7:18 left in the third quarter. Lincoln Memorial's last lead came at 31-30 on two free throws from Flowers with 6:59 left in the third, as the Pioneers ran off six in a row, including back-to-back layups from Miller, to go up 36-31 with 3:47 left in the period. Six points from Flowers would help LMU to a 37-37 tie with 2:28 remaining, but Sutton scored with 1:30 left to give the Pioneers a 39-37 lead heading to the fourth.
Sutton's tiebreaking hoop was part of a 9-0 Pioneer run that included a three-pointer from Kirsten Click and baskets from Arnwine and Dixon, the latter giving Tusculum its largest lead at 46-37 with 7:48 to go. LMU ran off seven straight points to cut the margin to two, then crept within 48-47 on a foul shot by Flowers with 3:31 remaining. A three-pointer from Rodrigues extended Tusculum's lead to 51-47 with 3:17 left, but LMU scored on back-to-back trips to tie the game with just over a minute left.
Flowers shot 4-for-14 from the field but went 10-for-11 from the foul line for the Railsplitters, while leading the team with seven rebounds and three steals. Jordan Maney, who entered the game as LMU's leading scorer at 13.0 points per game, ran into early foul trouble and was held scoreless in 21 minutes.
Dixon finished the game with nine points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 31 minutes for the Pioneers, while Click was 2-for-4 from three-point range and had six points off the Tusculum bench. The Pioneers shot 5-for-10 at the foul line in the game but ended with a 37-31 rebound advantage.
Tusculum will open its December schedule on the road at Newberry on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. The Wolves (1-2, 1-2 SAC) beat Limestone 65-52 Saturday afternoon ahead of a trip to Carson-Newman on Wednesday.
