NEWBERRY, S.C. — Ni’Kiah Chesterfield scored a game-high 22 points as Tusculum University rolled to a 73-51 victory over Newberry College in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball Saturday afternoon at Eleazer Arena.
Carleigh Wilson tied her career high with five three-pointers and scored 15 points, Abbi Douglas had 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds and Jenna Kallenberg scored 12 points as the Pioneers (9-17, 7-15 SAC) posted their largest win of the season and swept the season series from the Wolves (6-20, 5-17 SAC).
Jess Tomkins and Marykate Kent led Newberry with 10 points apiece, with Tomkins adding 11 rebounds, six blocked shots and four assists However, the Wolves shot just 35.2 percent (19-for-54) from the field and turned the ball over 19 times which led to 22 points for the Pioneers. Tusculum outrebounded Newberry by a 44-29 margin and had 14 second-chance points off 15 offensive rebounds.
Chesterfield reached the 20-point mark for the 10th time this season by shooting 8-for-15 from the field and 6-for-9 from the foul line, to go along with seven rebounds. Douglas’ 12 rebounds surpassed her previous high of 10 boards set Jan. 8 at Emory & Henry, while Wilson matched her high of five threes set Nov. 13 at North Greenville.
Tusculum shot 41.5 percent (27-for-65) from the field, including seven three-pointers, and shot 12-for-18 from the foul line. The Pioneers’ plus-15 advantage in rebounding over the Wolves was also a season best for Tusculum.
Newberry went up 6-0 after 2 1/2 minutes before Tusculum tied the game on back-to-back three-pointers from Wilson. The Pioneers took their first lead of the game at 10-8 on a basket from Zoe Sharpe with 4:42 left in the opening quarter, with a 7-0 run giving Tusculum a 17-10 lead on a three-point play from Douglas with 3:29 to go. That would be the final field goal of the quarter for the Pioneers, who held on to a 20-16 lead at the end of the period.
A three-pointer from Caylin Moment in the first minute of the second quarter cut the Tusculum lead to 20-19, but a three-point play from Chesterfield and a layup from Douglas put the Pioneers on top 25-19 with 6:26 left in the half. Back-to-back threes from Kallenberg and Wilson, followed by two straight baskets from Chesterfield, gave Tusculum its largest lead of the half at 35-21 with 1:57 remaining.
Tusculum led 37-26 at the half as Chesterfield led all players with 15 points, with nine points from Wilson and eight points and six rebounds from Douglas, as the Pioneers shot 41.9 percent (13-for-31) from the field as a team. Tomkins led the Wolves with six points and four rebounds, with Newberry shooting 40 percent (10-for-25) from the field.
Two baskets from Douglas and one from Kallenberg early in the third quarter pushed the Pioneers’ lead to 43-28 with 6:40 left in the period. Wilson drilled her fourth three-pointer of the day for a 47-32 Tusculum advantage with 5:31 to play, and Chesterfield tacked on four straight points as the Pioneers went up 51-34 with 2:44 to go. Newberry scored the final three points of the quarter, but still trailed Tusculum 51-37 heading to the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, Josie Horner hit back-to-back baskets in the first minute of the period, and a 7-0 run put the Pioneers on top 62-43 with 6:25 to go. Tusculum closed its scoring on a three-pointer by Kallenberg with 2:48 to go which gave the Pioneers their largest lead at 73-50 as Newberry went without a field goal for the final 4 minutes, 24 seconds.
Horner and Danyell Booker each had four points off the bench for the Pioneers, while Kent scored her 10 points in 22 minutes in a reserve role for the Wolves.
Tusculum will be home for its final two games of the 2024-25 season, with a visit from UVA Wise on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 5:30 p.m. The Cavaliers lost 76-62 at home to Wingate on Saturday to drop to 10-16 overall and 7-15 in the SAC.
