ANDERSON, S.C. — Anderson University earned its eighth consecutive victory Saturday afternoon as the Trojans defeated Tusculum University 92-63 in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball at the Abney Athletic Center.
Diamond McDowell led the Trojans (11-6, 7-4 SAC) with team highs of 20 points and seven rebounds and Zamiya Passmore added 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in the wire-to-wire victory. Kyla Cain made all seven of her shot attempts and had 14 points off the bench for Anderson, which scored 23 points off 20 Tusculum turnovers.
Ni’Kiah Chesterfield recorded her third double-double of the season and sixth of her career with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Pioneers (6-9, 4-7 SAC), while Abbi Douglas scored 15 points and had seven boards for Tusculum, which shot 39.7 percent (25-for-63) from the field as a team and 1-for-14 from three-point range.
McDowell did her damage in only three quarters as she and the rest of the Anderson starters sat out the final frame after building an 80-46 lead. Peytyn Oliver was the fourth player to reach double figures for the Trojans, collecting 10 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. Rose Gravel, Ashlyn Sheridan and Izzy Proffitt each scored eight points for Anderson.
Jalyn Spurlin, playing her first game as a visitor after four seasons at Anderson, had nine points and four rebounds in 18 minutes for the Pioneers while Zoe Sharpe continued her strong play off the Tusculum bench with eight points and four board sin 22 minutes. Anderson had a slim 45-43 rebound margin over Tusculum, but the Trojans had 21 second-chance points off 15 offensive rebounds.
Anderson raced out to a 9-2 lead after 2 1/2 minutes and went up 15-4 on a Gravel layup with 5:30 left in the opening quarter. Douglas scored seven points in the first period for the Pioneers, but the Trojans forced seven Tusculum turnovers and carried a 22-11 lead into the second quarter.
The Trojans stretched their lead to 31-14 on a three-pointer from Oliver with 7:29 left in the first half, but back-to-back baskets by Josie Horner and Spurlin brought the Pioneers back within 31-18. Tusculum would get within 39-27 on a layup by Sharpe with 2:59 to go in the half, but Anderson closed the half with the final seven points including a putback by Cain at the buzzer to go up 50-30 at intermission.
McDowell led all players with 10 points in the first half for Anderson, with Passmore collecting eight points and four assists. The Trojans, who received points from nine different players in the half, shot 43.8 percent (21-for-48) and 3-for-14 on three-pointers in the half. Chesterfield and Douglas had seven points apiece for the Pioneers, who were at 41.4 percent (12-for-29) from the field and 0-for-6 from long range.
Anderson’s lead would not dip below 20 points in the third quarter, with the Trojans taking an 80-46 lead into the fourth. The Pioneers would close the game with an 11-2 run over the final 5 1/2 minutes as the Trojans missed six of their final seven shots.
Horner played 14 minutes off the bench for the Pioneers and equaled her season high with six points to go along with three rebounds. Oliver and Sheridan each had six rebounds for the Trojans, with Gravel and Passmore pulling five boards apiece.
The Pioneers will host Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 5:30 p.m. at Pioneer Arena in the second meeting in four weeks between the teams. Tusculum defeated Lincoln Memorial 60-58 on the road on Dec. 18, and the Railsplitters (6-8, 5-6 SAC) will be coming off a 62-55 home loss to Coker on Saturday.
