MARS HILL, N.C. — Aaliyah El scored 27 points and Tateyoina Harris had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Mars Hill University to an 81-53 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball Wednesday evening at Stanford Arena.
The Lions (15-11, 12-10 SAC) shot 50.8 percent (30-for-59) from the field and outrebounded the Pioneers (8-17, 6-15 SAC) by a 51-16 margin to clinch a spot in the upcoming SAC Women’s Basketball Championship tournament. Maddie Gillie added 12 points and five rebounds for the Lions, who outscored the Pioneers 46-26 in the second half.
Ni’Kiah Chesterfield was the lone player to reach double figures for Tusculum, scoring 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting with three blocked shots, but the Pioneers shot 38.9 percent (21-for-54) from the field. Zoe Sharpe added eight points with Carleigh Wilson, Jenna Kallenberg and Abbi Douglas scoring six points apiece.
El was 10-for-14 from the field and 7-for-8 from the foul line for the Lions, and had seven rebounds, three assists and five steals in 33 minutes. Harris was 8-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-5 at the stripe as Mars Hill was 16-for-19 on free throws as a team.
Mars Hill was scoreless for the first three minutes after a layup from Chesterfield, but went up 10-5 on a layup from Harris with 3:23 to go in the first quarter. El scored the last four points of the quarter for the Lions, including a jumper with 34 seconds to give Mars Hill a 14-9 lead after one period.
Tusculum came back to tie the game at 18-18 on a layup by Sharpe with 6:58 left in the first half, and trailed just 26-25 following a Wilson three-pointer with 5:05 to go in the quarter. Mars Hill would run off seven straight points to go up 33-25 on a basket by Lauren Arnold with 3:08 to play, but neither team would score in the final 2:33 as the Lions carried a 35-27 lead to halftime.
El led all players with 14 points in the first half, while Harris had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Lions, who shot 48.1 percent (13-for-27) from the field in the half. Chesterfield led the Pioneers with nine points with six points apiece for Sharpe and Douglas, as Tusculum shot 40.7 percent (11-for-27) as a team.
In the third quarter, the teams traded baskets for the first five minutes before a three-pointer from Gillie and two foul shots from Arnold gave the Lions a 50-36 lead with 4:14 remaining in the period. Wilson hit a three-pointer with 1:12 to go to cut the margin to 56-44, but a jumper from El pushed the Lions on top 58-44 entering the fourth.
After a layup by Sharpe on the first possession of the fourth quarter, the Lions went on a 13-2 run to go up 71-48 on a layup from El with 5:53 to go. A three-pointer from Tusculum’s Monique Shim with 4:56 remaining would be the final points for the Pioneers, as the Lions closed the game with eight unanswered points.
Douglas had a season-high six steals for the Pioneers, one shy of her career high, but Tusculum scored just seven points off 20 Mars Hill turnovers. The Lions scored 15 points off 15 turnovers by the Pioneers, and Mars Hill turned 17 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points.
Tusculum will play its final road game of the season on Saturday, Feb. 22 when the Pioneers visit Newberry for a 2 p.m. tipoff at Eleazer Arena. The Wolves (6-19, 5-16 SAC) lost 74-66 to the Pioneers in the first meeting of the season on Nov. 26 at Pioneer Arena.
