WiNGATE, N.C. — Anya Massey scored 24 points as Wingate University defeated Tusculum University 82-76 in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball Saturday afternoon at Cuddy Arena.
Lia Anderson added 21 points and seven rebounds and Laney Beale posted 10 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Bulldogs (2-3, 1-1 SAC), who led by as many as 12 points late in the third quarter only to see the Pioneers (2-4, 0-2 SAC) pull within one late in the fourth.
Jalyn Spurlin and Danyell Booker each posted double-doubles for the Pioneers with 16 points and 10 rebounds apiece off the bench. Ni’Kiah Chesterfield also scored 16 points and had five boards for the Pioneers, who outrebounded the Bulldogs by a 47-38 margin but went 4-for-23 from three-point range as a team.
Spurlin’s double-double included a career high in rebounds, while Booker equaled her season high in points and was one shy of her career best of 11 boards. The Pioneers, who were 15th in Division II with a SAC-leading 35.2 points per game off the bench, outscored Wingate’s bench 43-14.
The Bulldogs finished at 47.2 percent (34-for-72) from the field and 5-for-14 from three-point range, including 4-for-4 during the third quarter. Massey was 4-for-12 from beyond the arc for Wingate.
Wingate went out to a quick 12-6 lead midway through the first quarter behind eight points from Massey, but six straight points off the bench from Booker tied the game at 14-14 with 2:31 left in the period. Back-to-back baskets from Spurlin put Tusculum in front 18-16 with just under a minute left, but a layup from Kyleigh Bacon and a buzzer-beating bucket from Anderson would put the Bulldogs up 20-18 after one.
The teams swapped the lead several times in the early part of the second quarter, with a layup from Carleigh Wilson tying the game at 28-28 with 4:38 to go in the half. However, Tusculum would be outscored 15-4 over the next four minutes and enter halftime facing a 43-34 deficit.
Massey led the Bulldogs with 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting in the first half, while Anderson added 10 points and four rebounds. Beale had six points and seven assists for Wingate, which shot 52.6 percent (20-for-38) from the field. Spurlin and Booker shared the team high in scoring for the Pioneers with eight points each in the first half, but Tusculum was 0-for-11 from three-point range and 36.8 percent (14-for-38) overall in the half.
Monique Shim hit a pair of three-pointers to bring the Pioneers within 53-48 with 4:48 left in the third quarter, but a pair of threes from Massey stretched the Bulldogs’ advantage to 61-50 with 1:58 remaining in the period. A three-pointer from Anna Baraldi would give Wingate a 64-52 lead with just under a minute left, but Chesterfield and Booker scored in the closing seconds to cut Tusculum’s deficit to 64-56 after three quarters.
Tusculum opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run, pulling within 66-64 on a jumper by Spurlin with 6:37 left. A three-pointer from Zoe Sharpe would cut the deficit to 70-69 with 5:00 to go, but Wingate scored five straight points to go up 75-69 on a layup by Anderson with 3:12 left. Tusculum would get within 77-73 on a layup by Spurlin with 1:08 on the clock, but Wingate scored five in a row before a Shim three in the final seconds set the final score.
Shim’s late three-pointer gave her 11 points for the game. Sharpe finished with five points and Jenna Sparks scored four points off the Pioneer bench. Abbi Douglas scored just two points but had six rebounds and a team-high six assists in 26 minutes for the Pioneers.
Baraldi accounted for all of Wingate’s bench scoring with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting in 21 minutes, while Bacon had nine points and six rebounds. As a team, the Bulldogs had just eight turnovers while the Pioneers turned the ball over 16 times.
Tusculum will return home to play Newberry on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 12 noon at Pioneer Arena. The Wolves (2-4, 1-1 SAC) lost 62-53 at Lincoln Memorial on Saturday afternoon, and will be playing their sixth road game out of their first seven of the season.
