GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Martina Garofalo scored on a driving layup with 0.2 seconds left to lift Tusculum University to a 63-62 victory over Emory & Henry University in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball Wednesday evening at Pioneer Arena.
Garofalo’s bucket brought an end to a seven-game losing streak for the Pioneers (2-15, 2-9 SAC), who trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half but came back to take the lead with just over three minutes left. Emory & Henry ran off five straight points to go up 62-59 with 1:59 remaining, but a basket from Abbi Douglas brought the Pioneers within 62-61 with 36.7 seconds remaining. The Wasps (4-13, 2-9 SAC) were unable to get off a shot on their possession and turned it over with 5.9 seconds left, giving the Pioneers a chance for the win.
Off the midcourt inbounds pass, Garofalo used a high screen from Josie Horner and drove nearly unguarded to the hoop, where her layup attempt went off the backboard, caught the rim and dropped in to give Tusculum a 63-62 lead. Emory & Henry had one last chance to try for a tip-in basket and the victory, but the attempt was nowhere close and the Pioneers came away with their first one-point win since a 70-69 victory over Young Harris on Nov. 29, 2023. Tusculum led for a total of 2 minutes, 16 seconds in the game, which had eight ties and six lead changes.
Garofalo scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half and added eight rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Pioneers, who received six points, a game-high 10 rebounds and five assists from Douglas. Aisha Patel matched her career high with 14 points, all coming in the first half, and also equaled her career best with seven rebounds along with three blocked shots off the bench for the Pioneers, who outrebounded the Wasps by a 40-37 margin.
Tori West led all players with a season-high 21 points for Emory & Henry, with 11 points and seven rebounds from Hali Harris and 11 points and four rebounds from Kinley Painter. The Wasps shot 35.9 percent (23-for-64) from the field as a team but went 8-for-14 at the foul line, while the Pioneers were 9-for-11 from the stripe as a team.
Emory & Henry used an early 8-0 run to build a 12-4 lead with 5:20 left in the first quarter, and stretched its lead to 18-8 on three free throws from West with 2:55 left in the period. The Pioneers responded with eight straight points form Patel, including a pair of three-pointers, to pull within 18-16, but West canned a three with 11.8 seconds left to give the Wasps a 21-16 lead after one quarter.
Painter hit consecutive threes early in the second quarter to stretch the Emory & Henry lead to 27-18, but the Pioneers rattled off nine straight points to tie the game at 27-27 on a layup by Angela Gomez with 4:07 remaining in the half. Emory & Henry would have the final run of the half as they finished with nine straight points, five from West and four from Dot Mills to take a 36-27 lead to halftime.
Patel was 4-for-6 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, and led the Pioneers with 14 points in the first half as Tusculum shot 34.5 percent (10-for-29) as a team. West paced the Wasps with 16 points, including three three-pointers, as Emory & Henry shot 39.4 percent (13-for-33) in the half. The Wasps had a 20-18 rebounding advantage in the half while Tusculum had 12 turnovers to 10 for Emory & Henry.
The Wasps led by as many as eight points in the third quarter, but the Pioneers were able to hold them without a point for the final three minutes of the quarter and tied the game on two three-pointers late in the quarter from Ema Nagyova, the last with 7.6 seconds left to knot the score at 46-46.
The teams would be tied at 48- and 50 before the Pioneers went up 53-50 on a three-point play by Garofalo with 6:26 left. A layup by Painter and a three-pointer from Harris put the Wasps back on top 55-53 with 5:31 to go, but Tusculum regained the lead at 59-57 on a three-pointer from Gomez with 3:07 left. After Mills sank two free throws with 2:39 left to tie the game at 59-59, West gave the Wasps their final lead on a three-pointer with 1:59 on the clock.
Nagyova had 11 points and drilled three three-pointers in the game for the Pioneers, with nine points and six assists from Gomez and eight points and four rebounds from Horner. Mills finished with nine points, five rebounds, six assists and four steals for the Wasps, with eight points from Rhyan Harris.
Emory & Henry had 16 turnovers in the game which led to 16 points for the Pioneers, while the Wasps had 22 points off 21 Tusculum turnovers. The Pioneers had 29 fast-break points to 20 for the Wasps, and both teams scored 24 points in the paint.
Tusculum will have a quick turnaround due to the impending winter storm this weekend, as the Pioneers will travel to play 18th-ranked Coker on Friday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. The Cobras, who beat the Pioneers 72-45 in their first meeting on Nov. 29 at Pioneer Arena, snapped a two-game losing streak with a 68-52 win at Wingate on Wednesday evening to remain in a four-way tie for first place in the SAC at 9-2.
