Women's Basketball Drop 68-58 Decision to Tusculum

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill women's basketball fell to the visiting Tusculum Pioneers by a final of 68-58 on Wednesday evening inside Chambers Gymnasium. The Lions dropped to 2-13 overall and 0-9 in the conference, while the Pioneers improved to 3-10 overall and 2-7 in league play.

Paige Chavis led the Lions with 17 points to go along with five rebounds and a pair of assists. Aliyah Farmer just missed out on a double-double, contributing 14 points and nine boards. Madison Ervin, Raven Brooks, and Jenny Edwards all chipped in nine points each.

Mars Hill connected on 18-of-49 shots for 36.7% from the field, including 5-of-15 from long range. The Lions shot 70.8% (17-24) from the free throw line. MHU held a commanding 44-32 advantage on the boards. Tusculum finished the game with a 42.6% (26-61) clip from the floor.

The Lions started the contest knocking down two of their first three shots to control a 5-0 lead early. Following a pair of free throws by Chavis, Tusculum reeled off a quick 6-0 run to take its first lead of the contest, 8-7, at the 4:53 mark. The Pioneer run continued to the tune of 13-2 before Chavis knocked down a deep, contested three to trim the deficit to 15-12 heading into the second quarter of play.

Both teams struggled offensively to begin the second frame. TC finally was able to achieve breathing room, running the lead out to its biggest of the contest, 31-23, with just under two minutes to play before the halftime break. The two teams traded shots from behind the arc and the Pioneers controlled a 34-26 lead after the first 20 minutes of play.

After trading the initial two baskets of the second half, Mars Hill notched five straight, capped off by a nice up-and-under layup by Raven Brooks, to bring the score to 36-33 with seven and a half left in the third. However, Tusculum took a strangle hold on the momentum, pushing ahead by 14 (50-36) after a 14-3 run that spanned a little over five minutes. TC carried that same point advantage (55-41) into the final stanza.

The Blue and Gold made things very interesting in the fourth, starting the quarter with an 8-0 run and 15-of-20 to trim the deficit to a four-point game (60-56) with 2:47 to play. However, that was as close as the Lions got, eventually dropping the contest 68-58.

Mars Hill returns to the court on Saturday, January 14, traveling to Hickory, N.C. to take on South Atlantic Conference foe Lenoir-Rhyne. The contest is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.