GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tusculum University Women's Basketball Team (11-1, 4-0 SAC) used a big third quarter to hand visiting Emory & Henry College (5-5, 2-1 SAC) its first South Atlantic Conference loss on Wednesday evening by a 63-39 margin.
Tusculum is receiving votes in the WBCA Division II Top 25 Poll and is currently ranked fifth in the Southeast Region by D2SIDA.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Tusculum 63, Emory & Henry 39
LOCATION – Greeneville, Tennessee
VENUE – Pioneer Arena
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (5-5, 2-1 SAC); Tusculum (11-1, 4-0 SAC)
How It Happened
- E&H scored the opening basket of the game but an 11-0 run by Tusculum made it a nine-point contest with 2:35 to go in the first. Another bucket each by the two teams made it a 13-5 Pioneer margin through one.
- The two squads went shot-for-shot in the second with Emory & Henry closing the gap to six (21-5) with 3:26 before the break but the Pioneers stemmed the run to take a 27-19 lead into the break.
- Returning to action, TU pushed its advantage to 37-24 with 10 of the first 15 points in the opening three minutes. The Pioneers pulled away with 13 in a row to go into the final quarter with a 50-26 lead.
- Tusculum was able to pull even further away in the fourth, going up by as much as 28 points at 60-32 with 3:54 to play. Emory & Henry finished on an 8-3 run for the final 63-39 margin.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Senior guard Amaya Lee (Bristol, Va.) posted eight points and seven rebounds while sophomore forward Emma Santoro (King, N.C.) had eight points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
- Redshirt freshman forward Breanna Yarber (Meadowview, Va.) posted six points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists sophomore guard Macy McClellan (Kingsport, Tenn.) tacking on five points and two rebounds.
Tusculum Individual Leaders
- Blayre Shultz scored a game-high 18 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists while two-time reigning SAC Player of the Week Jamie Tham went for a double-double with 16 points, 20 rebounds five steals and three assists.
- Mya Belton also had a double-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks, four steals and two assists as Deidre Cheremond chipped in eight points and three rebounds off the bench.
A Deeper Look
- Emory & Henry shot just 15-for-60 (25%) for the game with four three-pointers. The Wasps only made six trips to the free throw line but shot 83.3 percent (5-for-6).
- Tusculum made 34.3 percent (23-for-67) of its field goal attempts but was just 2-for-23 (8.7%) from three-point range. The Pioneers made 15-of-20 (75%) of their free throw attempts.
- TU held a 59-34 rebounding advantage with 18 offensive boards which it used to post a 15-1 lead in second-chance points.
- Tusculum also led 42-20 on points in the paint.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry will return home on Saturday to face Carson-Newman University in a SAC doubleheader at 2:00 p.m.
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