GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Shawnteanna Tillman scored 18 of her season-high 28 points in the second half to boost Coker University to an 81-71 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
The Cobras (15-1, 11-1 SAC), ranked 16th in the WBCA Division II national poll and 19th in the D2CSC poll, won their eighth straight game by going on a 22-7 run in the second half after the Pioneers erased a nine-point deficit.
Tillman was 9-for-18 from the field, including three three-pointers, and 7-for-7 at the foul line while also coming up with team highs of eight rebounds and five steals. Kamari Thompson added 15 points and Mya Wasswa and Kristynn Knight added 10 points apiece as Coker shot 46.8 percent (29-for-62) from the field and went 19-for-22 at the foul line, including 17-for-18 in the second half.
Abbi Douglas had a season-high 19 points for the Pioneers (6-11, 4-9 SAC) and Ni’Kiah Chesterfield added 19 points and five rebounds for Tusculum, which shot 38.6 percent (22-for-57) on field goals but was 23-for-26 (88.5 percent) at the foul line. Chesterfield was a perfect 8-for-8 at the stripe and Douglas sank 9-for-10 at the line.
Tillman scored the first eight points for the Cobras, while two baskets from Thompson and one from Wasswa gave Coker a 14-5 lead less than 4 1/2 minutes into the game. Tusculum cut the margin to 20-16 on a three-pointer from Carleigh Wilson with 2:09 remaining in the quarter, and there was no further scoring in the period as the teams combined to miss their final six shots.
Jalyn Spurlin scored six points in the first five minutes of the second quarter to help Tusculum cut the deficit to 25-24, and the Pioneers took their first lead at 32-31 on two free throws from Chesterfield with 1:16 left. However, Coker would score the final four points on baskets from Tillman and Dasia Ferguson to go ahead 35-32 at intermission.
Tillman led Coker with 10 points as the Cobras shot 53.6 percent (15-for-28) from the field in the half. Chesterfield led the Pioneers with 10 points and Spurlin added 17, with Tusculum shooting 36 percent (9-for-25) from the floor and 13-for-14 at the foul line.
Tusculum regained the lead 37-36 on a three-pointer from Jenna Kallenberg just over a minute into the third quarter, and took the lead for the final time at 44-42 on a layup from Chesterfield with 5:54 to go in the quarter. Coker responded with a 10-1 run over the next four minutes, going up 52-45 on a three-point play from Tillman with 2:05 remaining. Tillman scored 10 points in the period as Coker went up 57-50 heading to the final quarter.
The Pioneers went just over three minutes without a point early in the fourth as the Cobras took their largest lead at 67-52 on a layup by Thompson with 6:21 left. Tusculum would get as close as eight in the closing minutes as Douglas scored 10 points in the final three minutes.
Spurlin collected 11 points and had four rebounds in 26 minutes for the Pioneers, while Wilson, Kallenberg and Danyell Booker each had six points. Booker also had a team-high eight rebounds for the Pioneers, who were even on the glass 35-35 with the Cobras.
Coker had 17 turnovers as a team, while Tusculum turned the ball over 18 times. The Cobras had 24 points off the Pioneers miscues, compared to 13 for the Pioneers. Coker had a slight 36-32 edge in paint scoring and a 13-10 edge in second-chance points, with 12 offensive rebounds for the Cobras to 13 for the Pioneers.
Tusculum will visit UVA Wise for their first meeting of the season with the Cavaliers on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 5:30 p.m. UVA Wise lost 93-79 to Anderson on Saturday and remains tied for eighth in the SAC standings with Lenoir-Rhyne at 5-8.
