Braelyn Wykle scored a career-high 39 points and Carson-Newman University survived three potential game-winning shot attempts from Tusculum University as the Eagles outlasted the Pioneers 83-81 in double overtime in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball Wednesday evening from Holt Fieldhouse.
The Eagles (10-6, 5-2 SAC) won their fifth straight conference game and moved into a tie atop the SAC Mountain Division standings with the Pioneers (14-3, 5-2 SAC), who lost their second road overtime game in a week in a matchup of teams both ranked in the D2SIDA Southeast Region poll this week. The contest featured 14 ties and 19 lead changes, with the last coming on a basket by Wykle with 1:03 remaining in the second overtime period.
Jami Tham set a school record with her 17th straight double-double as she finished with 25 points and a game-high 19 rebounds for the Pioneers, while Mya Belton battled through foul trouble to hit a career-high six three-pointers and score a season-best 24 points to go along with nine rebounds. Blayre Shultz added 14 points, including a tying three-point play near the end of the first overtime, while Deidre Cheremond had 10 points in 11 minutes off the bench for the Pioneers. Sophie Henry added six points, six rebounds, and 10 assists for Tusculum, which turned the ball over 18 times leading to 24 points for Carson-Newman.
Campbell Penland finished with 18 points for the Eagles and Tori Rutherford had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds off the bench for Carson-Newman, which did not lead by any more than four points in the game and overcame a five-point deficit in the final 75 seconds of regulation to force overtime.
Wykle shot 15-for-28 from the field, including 5-for-10 from three-point range, and hit 4-for-4 from the foul line while adding seven rebounds and two assists in 48 minutes. Carson-Newman went 9-for-31 from beyond the arc in the game (29.0 percent) and was 28-for-77 (36.4 percent) from the field, but went 18-for-19 from the foul line including 6-for-6 in overtime.
Tham’s double-double broke the previous Pioneer record of 16 straight double-doubles set by Maddie Sutton during the 2020-21 season. Tham is now tied for fifth on the Tusculum single-season double-double list with Susan Starnes (1993-94) and extended her lead among all active Division II players with her 50th career double-double. Her 19 rebounds were one shy of her career-high of 20 set against Emory & Henry on Dec. 14, while her six assists were one off her career-best of seven set against Mount Olive on March 4, 2021.
In the men’s game, Tusculum closed out the first half with a 21-3 run to spark the Pioneers to a 72-59 South Atlantic Conference win at Carson-Newman Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse.
Tusculum (9-5, 5-2 SAC) moves into second place in the SAC Mountain Division standings while posting its third consecutive win. TU also records its fourth win in a row over their arch-rivals and hands the Eagles (10-6, 4-2 SAC) its fourth consecutive loss.
Tusculum used a balanced attack as five Pioneers scored in double figures led by Inady Legiste who finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for his NCAA Division II leading 10th double-double of the season. The 10 double-doubles ties the TU single-season record with former Pioneer greats Ray Christian (1993-94) and James Boshears (1994-95).
The Tusculum quartet of James West IV, Jalen Crowder, Connor Jordan, and Kyle Brown all finished with 10 points apiece for the Orange and Black.
C-N’s Caleb Bridgewater led all scorers with his 17 points as he went 6-of-8 from the floor with three 3-pointers in his 17 minutes off the bench. All of his points came consecutively in a span of 6:32 in the second half. C-N’s Bryant Thomas joined him in double-figure scoring with 13 points.
Pioneers return home on Saturday with a double-header against Wingate beginning with the women’s game at 2:00 p.m. with the men in action at 4:00 p.m.
