Tusculum Women's Basketball Wins Back-to-Back SAC Pilot Flying J Championships, Downing Lincoln Memorial 59-47
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lincoln Memorial
11-11
|
10 | 18 | 4 | 15 | 47 |
|
Tusculum
18-3
|
10 | 16 | 13 | 20 | 59 |
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Lincoln Memorial | Tusculum |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (17-43) | (20-54) |
| Field Goal % | 39.5% | 37.0% |
| Rebounds | 29 | 36 |
| Assists | 8 | 15 |
| Turnovers | 16 | 11 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 5 | 17 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 3 | 10 |
| Pts in the Paint | 18 | 28 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 4 |
| Bench Pts | 13 | 0 |
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (TheSAC.com)– The No. 2 seed Tusculum Pioneers and the No. 8 seed Lincoln Memorial battled through all four quarters with the Pioneers outscouring the Railsplitters in the second half to secure a 59-47 win and their second consecutive SAC Pilot Flying J Women's Basketball Championship on Sunday (March 7). With the win, the Pioneers improve to 18-3 on the year, while Lincoln Memorial falls to 11-11 overall
It was a battle of defenses in the first 20 minutes of action as neither team was able to find an offensive rhythm and Lincoln Memorial took a narrow 28-26 lead into the break.
Tusculum turned up the defensive pressure to start the second half with a full-court press and turned 16 Railsplitter turnovers on 13 points and an eventual tournament championship.
Leading the charge for the Pioneers was senior Maddie Sutton with a game-high 27 points and eleven rebounds, followed by Brianna Dixon's 11 points and nine rebounds.
A pair of Rilsplitters netted double figures with Jordan Maney and Mikayla Kuehne pouring in 17 and 13 points respectively. Kuehne also pulled down six rebounds and Maney followed right behind with five.
Sutton was named the championship's Most Valuable Player, with teammates Marta Rodrigues and Jalia Arnwine earning All-Tournament honors. The full 2021 All-Tournament team is listed below.
Brittany Bailey, Anderson
Janiya Downs, Catawba
Maddie Sutton, Tusculum – MVP
Jordan Maney, Lincoln Memorial
Lindsay Proffitt, Lincoln Memorial
Marta Rodrigues, Tusculum
Jalia Arnwine, Tusculum
With the win, Tusculum earns the SAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championship. The full bracket for the 2020 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball tournament will be released tonight (March 7) at 10 p.m. live on NCAA.com.