GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Tusculum University overcame 28 turnovers by shooting 50 percent from the field in a 78-74 victory over Mars Hill University in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
Ni’Kiah Chesterfield scored the go-ahead basket with 2:50 left and scored 14 points to lead the Pioneers (4-4, 2-2 SAC), who also received 14 points off the bench from Danyell Booker and 10 points apiece from Carleigh Wilson and Jalyn Spurlin in the win over the Lions (5-3, 2-2 SAC), who entered the week ranked eighth in the CSC Division II Southeast Region poll.
Aaliyah El led the Lions with 23 points and eight rebounds, with Tateyoina Harris adding 16 points and a game-high 13 boards. Daisy Gale added a season-best 14 points and Naja Ngongba had 11 points and five boards off the bench for the Lions, who shot 36.7 percent (29-for-79) and 1-for-13 from three-point range as a team.
Wilson scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a three-pointer with 4:40 left that gave Tusculum a 66-65 lead. The Pioneers, who led by 11 in the first quarter, were just 10 for-19 from the foul line in the game and 3-for-8 in the fourth quarter.
Mars Hill had 27 offensive rebounds in the game and a 50-42 overall advantage on the glass over Tusculum. The Lions scored 20 second-chance points and had 29 points off Pioneer turnovers, but Tusculum converted 24 Mars Hill miscues into 23 points of its own.
The Lions opened the scoring on a basket by El, but the Pioneers would score 11 in a row to take an 11-2 lead on a layup by Spurlin with 5:48 left in the first quarter. Spurlin would score six points in the period as the Pioneers took a 19-12 lead through the opening period.
Mars Hill opened the second quarter with a 10-1 run, taking a 22-20 lead on a foul shot from Landyn Stewart with 6:36 left in the half. Tusculum tied the game at 26-26 on a three-pointer from Monique Shim with 4:20 remaining, then went on an 8-0 run that included back-to-back baskets from Booker to build a 34-29 lead at halftime.
Chesterfield and Booker shared the team lead in scoring for the Pioneers in the first half with eight points apiece, helping Tusculum shoot 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from the floor. El paced the Lions with eight points and five rebounds in the half, with Mars Hill shooting 35.5 percent (11-for-31) and both teams turning the ball over 18 times.
Two straight baskets from Abbi Douglas to open the third quarter put the Pioneers up 38-29, but Gale and El combined for 16 points in the period as Mars Hill fought back to close the quarter with a 11-2 run. A late three-point play from Harris gave the Lions a 52-51 lead entering the fourth.
Tusculum regained the lead at 55-54 on a layup by Zoe Sharpe with 8:53 remaining, and Wilson hit a three-pointer and a layup on consecutive possessions for a 60-56 lead with 7:45 to go. Mars Hill would score five straight points, including a jumper from Harris with 5:37 to play for a 63-62 advantage. The teams would be tied at 63, 66 and 68, but Chesterfield gave Tusculum the lead for good with 2:50 remaining. Mars Hill would twice pull within two points in the final two minutes, but Douglas made two free throws with 1:08 left and Kallenberg beat the press with a layup with 36 seconds left to seal the victory.
Douglas and Kallenberg each scored nine points for the Pioneers, while Sharpe had seven points, four rebounds and two steals. Wilson had eight rebounds, four assists, a career-high four blocked shots and three steals in 28 minutes.
Tusculum will return to the road to face Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. The Bears (3-4, 2-3 SAC) defeated UVA Wise 77-75 on Saturday on a game-winning basket from Vanessa Jurewicz with five seconds left.
