Women’s Basketball Loses to Tusculum
Deal enters Mars Hill 1,000-point club
MARS HILL, N.C. - The Lions' women's basketball team lost to SAC rival Tusculum College, 91-70 Saturday afternoon in Stanford Arena. Taylor Deal entered Mars Hill's 1,000-point club scoring a team high 18 points in the contest.
Tusculum College outscored Mars Hill College 36-9 over the final
12 minutes of the first half to enjoy a 45-28 lead at the
intermission. The Pioneers (12-4, 6-2 SAC) won their fifth straight
game and set a season high in points by overcoming a 10-point
deficit with a pair of 13-0 runs. Tusculum maintains a share of the
SAC lead with Catawba, which defeated Newberry 58-53. The Lions
dropped to 10-7 overall and 3-5 in the SAC with the loss.
Kendal Baxter led the Pioneers with 24 points, with Jama Hammontree
and Linda Aughburns each posting season highs with 17 points
apiece. Tusculum grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and shot a
season-best 88% (22-for-25) from the foul line in the victory.
Following Deal was Jackie Simon with 16 and Tyler Carlson with 14.
Carlson added five assists. The Lions outshot the Pioneers 44% to
43%, but committed 21 turnovers which Tusculum converted into 25
points.
Mars Hill bolted to a 19-9 lead following two free throws by
Carlson with 11:50 left in the first half. A three-pointer by
Hammontree triggered a 13-0 run which gave the Pioneers their first
lead of the day at 22-19 following a layup by Staci Hicks with 8:54
to play in the half.
Trailing 23-22 with 7:16 left in the half, the Pioneers went on
another 13-0 run to build a 35-23 lead with 3:59 left in the first
half. The Pioneers built their lead to 17 points at halftime,
taking a 45-28 lead to the locker room behind a game-high 15 points
from Baxter.
A three-pointer by Hammontree gave Tusculum a 48-28 lead on the
first possession of the second half. Mars Hill would not get the
deficit under 15 until a layup by Armeka Booker cut the Tusculum
lead to 66-52 with 6:34 remaining.
The basket was part of a 13-2 run by the Lions that saw Mars Hill
pull within 68-61 on two free throws by Booker with 4:26 left.
However, Hammontree responded with a three-pointer with 4:08 to go
to restore Tusculum's double-figure lead, a basket that triggered a
12-0 run which gave the Pioneers an 80-61 advantage with 2:43 to
play.
Booker paced the Lions off the bench with seven points and four
rebounds in nine minutes of playing time. Amanda Westbrook also
contributed off the Mars Hill bench with four points and five
boards.
The Lions will host Catawba College on Wednesday night. Tip-off in Stanford Arena is set for 6 p.m.