Anderson University shot 55.1 percent from the field, including 10-for-14 from three-point range, as the Trojans defeated Tusculum University 80-67 in South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball action Wednesday evening at the Abney Athletic Center.
Jalyn Spurlin scored a career-high 27 points and Brittney Stafford added a season-best 25 points for the Trojans (15-12, 9-8 SAC), who built a 10-point lead by the midway point of the first quarter and led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter, with the Pioneers getting no closer than eight points in the second half.
Jami Tham led the Pioneers (20-7, 11-6 SAC) with 27 points and Blayre Shultz added 17 for Tusculum, which shot 39.1 percent (25-for-64) from the field and 7-for-24 from three-point range as a team. The Pioneers forced the Trojans into 22 turnovers and scored 24 points off those turnovers, but could not stop Anderson from long range as the Trojans were 5-for-5 from beyond the arc in the second quarter.
Spurlin shot 11-for-14 from the field and 3-for-5 from the foul line to surpass her previous season high of 22 points set on Dec. 17 against Lenoir-Rhyne and her career best of 24 set against Limestone on Dec. 2, 2020. Stafford was 7-for-13 from the field, including three three-pointers, and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the foul line to break the 20-point mark for the first time this season.
Justin Mitchell’s steal and dunk with 30.7 seconds remaining in double overtime proved to be the game-winner as Tusculum University rallied from a 17-point deficit to defeat Anderson University 97-94 Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
With the victory, the Pioneers (14-10, 10-7 South Atlantic Conference) secure second place in the SAC Mountain Division and will host Wingate University (No. 3 seed in SAC Piedmont Division) in a SAC Quarterfinal game next Wednesday (March 1) at Pioneer Arena.
Mitchell’s late-game heroics also included a blocked shot and rebound with 7.8 seconds left in double overtime. He made the second of two free throws to give TU a three-point lead (97-94).
As much as Mitchell was the hero for Tusculum, Anderson’s Mason Carver was that for the Trojans. Carver sent the game into overtime with his buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of regulation. He also hit the game-tying layup in the final seconds of the first OT period. But Carver’s magic finally ran out as his 30-foot game-tying shot was short as the Pioneers record their seventh straight win over Anderson and their fourth in a row in the Electric City.
Mitchell finished the game with 20 points, eight rebounds, and a career-high five steals including the 100th of his career. But none was bigger than his theft late in the second extra period.
Tusculum closes out the regular season on Saturday when they travel to Catawba College for a 2 p.m. tipoff for the women and a 4 p.m. contest for the men.
