January 28, 2009

MARS HILL, N.C. - Tusculum blew open a tight game midway through the second half and prevailed over Mars Hill 79-70 Wednesday night inside Stanford Arena. The Pioneers improve to 17-2, 7-1 in the SAC. The Lions drop to 10-9, 3-5 in the SAC.

The Lions opened the game in an unconventional Triangle and Two Defense trying to slow down the league's highest scoring offense. A Bria Smith (Snellville, Ga.) three-pointer gave Mars Hill an early 5-4 lead at the 15:59 mark. The Pioneers regained the lead 8-7 on a Kat Spears (Memphis, Tenn.) layup with 14:01 left in the half.

Tusculum switched to a press to try and speed up the game but Mars Hill seemed unfazed. Jessica Blanford (Concord, N.C.) nailed a three-pointer to give the Lions a 12-10 lead at the 11:28 mark. Shantae Shank (Charlotte, N.C.) responded on the next possession with a jumper that keyed a 6-0 run to give the Pioneers their largest lead of the half.

Down 18-16, Brittini Young (Ramseur, N.C.) drained a deep shot from behind the arc to give the Lions the advantage with 6:43 left in the half. A Smith three-pointer gave the Lions their largest lead of the half, 24-18, at the 4:22 mark.

Nikki Van Dine (Columbus, Ohio) hit a three to cut the score to 26-23 but Young responded two possessions later with a trey of her own with 1:22 left in the half. Mars Hill carried a 29-27 lead into halftime, marking the first time Tusculum had trailed all season at the midway point.

The Lions opened the second half on a 5-0 run, finished off by a three from Blanford from the corner, and led 33-27 with 18:22 left in regulation.

The Pioneers responded with a 23-4 run. Mars Hill went 5:05 without scoring. Tusculum gained its first double-digit lead, 50-39, off a layup by Jasmine Parker (Rex, Ga.). The Pioneers took their largest lead of the game of 16 points, 66-50, off an old-fashioned three-point play by Parker.

Mars Hill cut the lead to single digits, 68-60, off a layup by Young with 1:51 left in the game but would get no closer. Tusculum finished off the game by hitting seven straight free throws.

Stephany Neptune (Wallkill, N.Y.) posted a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds for Tusculum. Parker chipped in 17 points. Neptune and Parker each had 15 points in the second half. Spears and Shank had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Young poured in a game-high 24 points for Mars Hill. Smith recorded 10 points. Shamia Terry (Greenville, S.C.) had seven points and 11 rebounds.

Mars Hill will host Brevard at 2 p.m. Saturday inside Stanford Arena.

Season Stats...

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