Saturday, January 5, 2008

TUSCULUM WOMEN BEAT BEARS 84-69 IN SAC OPENER, PIONEERS WIN SEVENTH STRAIGHT

HICKORY, N.C. --- The Tusculum College women’s basketball team used a strong second half as the Pioneers defeated host Lenoir-Rhyne College, 84-69 Saturday night in South Atlantic Conference action at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium. Tusculum (10-2, 1-0 SAC) is victories in its league opener, while winning its seventh straight game.

Junior Nikki Van Dine led the Pioneers with 17 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Kat Spears contributed 15 points and nine boards. Rookie guard Jasmine Gunn accounted for 13 points and seven assists, while Stephany Neptune finished with eight markers and five rebounds playing on 18 minutes due to early foul trouble.

Jami Safrit led the Bears (8-4, 1-1 SAC) with 17 points, six rebounds and five steals, while Amber Holt and LaCourtney Rann tallied 14 points each.

The first half saw six ties and five lead changes as the Pioneers led 31-29 at halftime. In the second period, Tusculum opened with a 7-1 run, including a pair of baskets by Gunn as TC move out to a 38-32 advantage.

The Bears responded with seven unanswered points, including four markers by Rann as L-R trailed 38-37 with 15:54 remaining in the game.

Later in the period, Tusculum used an 11-4 spurt over a three-minute span, capped off by a three-pointer by Van Dine at the 7:46 mark to move TC up 57-48. TC led by double-digits on several occasions down the stretch, including 73-63 with 2:29 remaining. L-R made one last push with five straight points, including a three-pointer by Rann as the Bears trailed 73-68 with two minutes left.

Tusculum closed out the game with an 11-1 run as Van Dine went 6-for-6 from the free throw line.

After shooting 39 percent in the first half, Tusculum shot a sizzling 16-for-24 from the floor (67%) in the second period to finish gunning 50.9 percent from the floor. TC limited Lenoir-Rhyne to 38 percent shooting for the game, including 18 percent (3-17) from three-point territory.

Tusculum out-rebounded the Bears by a 47-33 margin, including 21-12 in the second half. The contest was a foul-plagued as both teams where whistled for 53 fouls, resulting in 62 free throws by the two squads.

Tusculum returns home for the first time in over a month when it hosts in-state foe Lincoln Memorial for a league contest, beginning at 6 p.m. at Pioneer Arena.

- TC -