February 25, 2009

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Jasmine Gunn scored 29 points and Stephany Neptune recorded a double-double to lead the No. 15 Tusculum College women’s basketball team (23-4, 13-3 SAC) to a 86-68 South Atlantic Conference win over Mars Hill College (12-14, 5-10 SAC) on Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.

Tusculum connected on 43.8% of its shots from the field, including a 48.4% clip in the first half. The Pioneeers also shot 43.8% from three-point range (7-for-16) as Mars Hill posted a 37.8% field goal percentage in the loss. Tusculum won the battle on the glass 50-40.

Mars Hill was led by Taylor Deal’s (Catawba, N.C.) season-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Brittni Young (Ramseur, N.C.), the SAC’s leading scorer this season, poured in 12 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Jocelyn Williams (Greensboro, N.C.) joined Deal and Young in double figures with 12 points, while Ariel Okunowo (Decatur, Ga.) dished out a squad-best six assists.

The Lions set the tempo early in the game, scoring eight of the first 12 points to take an 8-4 lead on a jumper by Deal at the 17:28 mark. Tusculum then found its rhythm, launching a 12-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to take a 16-8 lead on a layup by Neptune with just under 15 minutes remaining in the half.

Tusculum continued to set the pace over the next few minutes, opening a pair of 10-point leads before Deal converted a three-point play to pull the Lions within four at 25-21 with 9:03 left before halftime. The Pioneers would stretch the lead to nine with two quick baskets, but Mars Hill fought back to cut the margin to 39-36 on a jumper by Williams with 2:15 left in the half. Tusculum responded with a 5-0 run to close out the period and head into the intermission with a 44-36 lead.

The two teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second half, until Oliver knocked down a three-pointer at the 16:49 mark to put Tusculum up 53-42 and launch the Pioneers on an 11-4 run to take a 61-46 lead with 13:13 remaining. Mars Hill would cut the lead to 67-60, but Nikki Van Dine scored six of her 12 points on back-to-back treys as part of a 14-2 run by the Pioneers to put the game away and give Tusculum an 81-62 advantage with 4:16 to go.

MHC will play at Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday night. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.

Season Stats...

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