GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Tusculum University head women’s basketball coach Roger Hodge earned his 300th career collegiate victory as the Pioneers defeated Newberry College 74-66 in South Atlantic Conference action Tuesday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
Ni’Kiah Chesterfield scored 17 points and had a game-high nine rebounds for the Pioneers (3-4, 1-2 SAC), who led by 13 points early in the fourth quarter but saw the advantage dwindle to one before pulling away late against the Wolves (2-5, 1-2 SAC).
Hodge is in his second season as head coach of the Pioneers and 20th overall, with previous stops at Armstrong Atlantic, Lincoln Memorial, Coastal Georgia and WVU Tech. His milestone win came courtesy of a defense that allowed Newberry to shoot just 33.3 percent (25-for-75) from the field while forcing 25 turnovers and giving up a season low in points.
Jalyn Spurlin added 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench and Jenna Kallenberg scored a season-high 10 points for the Pioneers, who went 7-for-13 from three-point range and scored 29 points off of Newberry’s 25 turnovers.
Hannah Nimmo made five three-pointers and scored a game-high 21 points for the Wolves, while Jess Tomkins, Ryian Howard and Caylin Moment added 10 points apiece. Newberry outrebounded Tusculum 51-45, and had 18 second-chance points off 24 offensive rebounds.
After two free throws by Nimmo on the game’s first possession, the Pioneers ran off eight straight points which included three-pointers from Kallenberg and Monique Shim. Tusculum led 12-6 after a layup from Zoe Sharpe with 3:54 left in the opening quarter, but Newberry scored the next 13 points as part of a 15-1 run. Howard had the final three baskets for the Wolves to give them a 21-13 lead after one period.
The Pioneers would go on another 8-0 run in the second quarter, with three-pointers from Chesterfield and Carleigh Wilson, to go back on top 30-26 with 3:32 left in the half. Newberry would knot the game at 30-30 on a basket by Marykate Kent with 2:20 to go, but the Wolves would miss their final five shot attempts of the half as the Pioneers took a 32-30 lead to intermission.
Chesterfield paced the Pioneers with nine points, five rebounds and three assists in the first half along with two blocked shots and two steals. Spurlin added seven off the bench as the Pioneers shot 36.1 percent (13-for-36) from the field as a team. Moment had seven points to lead the Wolves, who were just behind the Pioneers in shooting at 35.1 percent (13-for-37) in the half.
The teams swapped the lead four times in the first four minutes of the third quarter, with the Pioneers going up for good at 43-42 on a jumper by Abbi Douglas with 5:53 remaining in the period. The Pioneers kept the Wolves scoreless for nearly 3 1/2 minutes and scored the final six points of the quarter to go up 56-45 entering the fourth.
Newberry chipped away at the lead, opening the fourth on an 8-2 run to pull within 58-53 on a three-pointer from Nimmo with 7:57 to play. A three-pointer from Sharpe restored an eight-point edge for the Pioneers, but Newberry came back to trail 61-59 with 5:39 remaining. Ella Pearson would make one of two at the line to keep Tusculum up a point, and a three-pointer from Wilson kicked off a decisive 12-2 Tusculum run.
Wilson had eight points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots for the Pioneers, while Sharpe had eight points and four steals in 18 minutes off the bench. Danyell Booker added eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals for Tusculum, while Shim finished with seven points. Tusculum had 14 steals as a team, the most for the Pioneers since recording 15 steals against Limestone on Jan. 13 of last season.
The Pioneers, who entered the game leading the SAC in both free throws made (16.8) and attempted (25.7) per game, shot 15-for-21 from the stripe in the victory. Tusculum scored 29 points off the bench, below its SAC-leading average of 36.5 points per game, but the Pioneers hit their season average in assists with 17.
Tusculum will reconvene after Thanksgiving to host Mars Hill on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Arena. The Lions entered play Tuesday night at 5-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play, and are ranked eighth in this week’s D2CSC Southeast Region poll.
