GAFFNEY, S.C. — Reagan Kargo led five Limestone University starters in double figures with 24 points as the Saints defeated Tusculum University 88-73 in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball Wednesday evening at the Timken Center.
The Saints (11-8, 7-8 SAC) won their fifth straight game by shooting 47.7 percent (31-for-65) from the field, including 11-for-22 from three-point range, while holding the Pioneers (7-13, 5-11 SAC) to 39 percent (23-for-59) from the floor.
Ni’Kiah Chesterfield recorded her seventh 20-point game of the season with a game-high 29 points for the Pioneers, but was the only player to reach double figures in scoring for Tusculum in the game. Abbi Douglas had nine points and nine rebounds for the Pioneers, with nine points apiece for Jenna Kallenberg and Jalyn Spurlin.
Chesterfield was 10-for-10 from the foul line, setting a career high in made free throws and becoming the first Pioneer to make 10 free throws without a miss in a game since Maddie Sutton was 12-for-12 against Newberry on March 1, 2021.
Spurlin scored the 1,000th point of her college career on a basket with 5:59 left in the second quarter. Her total of 1,004 points includes 748 at Anderson from 2019-23 and 256 points so far this season.
Graycie Poe sank five three-pointers in six attempts and scored 19 points for Limestone, with Amara Newsom collecting 15 points and eight rebounds. Kalisha Hill added 12 points and Megan Watson scored 11 for the Saints, who only trailed briefly in the second quarter.
Limestone scored the game’s first seven points on a layup and a three-pointer from Poe and a layup from Newsom, before Tusculum got on the board on a three from Kallenberg. The Saints went up 25-13 on a layup by Kargo with 2:06 left in the quarter, but Limestone would miss its final seven shots as the Pioneers pulled within 27-20 after one period.
Tusculum cut the deficit to 29-28 on a three-pointer from Kallenberg with 8:17 to play in the half, and the Pioneers would take their only lead of the evening at 34-33 on a basket from Chesterfield with 5:26 to go. Limestone would respond with a 13-2 run to go up 46-36 on a three-point play by Newsom with 51 seconds remaining. The Pioneers finished the half with back-to-back three-pointers from Chesterfield and Kallenberg to pull within 46-42 at halftime.
Chesterfield led the Pioneers with 15 points in the opening half while Kallenberg had nine points on 3-for-3 from three-point range. Tusculum shot 38.2 percent (13-for-34) from the field as a team in the half but was 11-for-13 at the foul line. Kargo paced the Saints with 13 points and Newsom added 11 as Limestone was 46.2 percent (18-for-39) from the field and 6-for-12 from long range.
Tusculum trailed 47-44 following two free throws from Chesterfield early in the third quarter, but Limestone broke loose with a 14-2 run that included two three-pointers from Poe and one from Watson which gave the Saints a 61-46 lead with 5:33 to play in the third quarter. Tusculum crept back to within 65-56 at the end of the quarter on a layup by Douglas just before the buzzer.
Tusculum would get as close as six in the fourth quarter as a layup by Chesterfield with 3:28 remaining cut the Limestone lead to 77-71. However, Poe would hit a three-pointer on the Saints’ next possession to trigger a game-ending 11-2 run for Limestone.
Carleigh Wilson finished with seven points, five rebounds and three steals in 29 minutes off the bench for the Pioneers, while Danyell Booker added three points and five rebounds. Limestone had just seven points from its bench, led by Dior Shelton who had three points and five rebounds in 21 minutes.
Limestone outrebounded Tusculum by a 42-35 margin, and the Saints had 19 turnovers to 18 for the Pioneers. Tusculum scored 21 points off Limestone’s turnovers, with the Saints scoring 18 points off the Pioneer miscues.
Tusculum will visit Catawba on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. The Indians, who defeated the Pioneers 88-77 in Greeneville on Dec. 11, beat Newberry 57-49 on Wednesday evening to improve to 12-8 overall and a tie for fourth place in the SAC with Mars Hill at 10-6.
