TIGERVILLE, S.C. — Ni’Kiah Chesterfield finished with 23 points and eight rebounds and Carleigh Wilson added 20 points as Tusculum University defeated North Greenville University 92-75 in non-conference women’s basketball Wednesday evening at Hayes Gymnasium.
Jalyn Spurlin added 18 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Pioneers (1-2), who picked up their first victory since December 2, 2023 against Anderson. Tusculum shot 50.8 percent (31-for-61) from the field and had 18 turnovers as a team, and the Pioneers were 21-for-27 (77.8 percent) at the foul line.
Amaijah Smith led the Trailblazers (0-3) with 15 points and eight assists, but North Greenville shot 36.8 percent (25-for-68) from the field and went 1-for-10 from three-point range in the fourth quarter after going 9-for-22 from deep in the first three quarters.
Chesterfield and Wilson became the first Tusculum duo to each reach 20 points in a game since Jan. 11, 2023 at Carson-Newman, when Jami Tham scored 25 points and Mya Belton added 24. Wilson made a career-high five three-pointers in six attempts, while Chesterfield went 9-for-17 from the field and 5-for-7 at the foul line in the victory.
Spurlin’s 18 points were also a season high and came on 7-for-9 shooting from the field and 4-for-5 at the foul line in 28 minutes off the Tusculum bench. Abbi Douglas also reached double figures for the Pioneers, posting a season-best 10 points on 8-for-9 shooting at the foul line.
Tusculum went out to an early 7-3 lead on a three-pointer from Jenna Kallenberg, a basket from Chesterfield and a layup by Monique Shim. Six straight points from Smith gave the Trailblazers a 12-10 lead with 5:06 left in the opening quarter, but Wilson would score eight points during a 12-0 Tusculum run that gave the Pioneers a 22-12 advantage with 1:51 to go in the quarter. North Greenville would cut the deficit to 22-19 by scoring the last seven points of the quarter, including a late layup by Maliyiah Mason.
The Pioneers would go on a 9-2 run to start the second quarter, with two straight baskets from Spurlin followed by a bucket from Jenna Sparks and a three-pointer by Shim for a 31-21 lead with 7:24 to go in the half. The Trailblazers would chip away at the Pioneer lead and tie the game at 37-37 on two free throws by Mia Wysong with 2:28 left in the half. North Greenville took its biggest lead of the night at 42-39 on a Tabitha Littlefield layup with 50 seconds remaining, but baskets from Chesterfield and Spurlin would send Tusculum to the half with a 43-42 advantage.
Spurlin led the Pioneers with 12 points in the first half and Wilson added 11 on 4-for-6 shooting from the field, including three three-pointers. Tusculum shot an even 50 percent (17-for-34) from the field in the half and hit 5-for-12 from beyond the arc as a team. Abi Oates led North Greenville with nine points and Smith added eight in the first half for the Trailblazers, who shot 41.7 percent (15-for-36) from the field and 7-for-15 (46.7 percent) from three-point range.
Wilson and Chesterfield combined for Tusculum’s first seven points of the third quarter, which gave the Pioneers a 50-44 lead with 6:13 left. Chesterfield scored 10 points in the period, and the bench combined for eight of the Pioneers’ final 10 points of the frame as Tusculum went up 69-58 heading to the fourth.
Tusculum seemed poised to pull away as a three-point play from Douglas gave the Pioneers a 76-60 advantage with 8:23 left. The Trailblazers scored eight straight points as part of a 9-1 run that cut the Pioneer lead to 79-71 with 2:57 to go, but Wilson and Chesterfield scored the next six points between themselves to give Tusculum breathing room, and the Pioneers would go 10-for-13 at the foul line in the quarter.
Shim finished with eight points for the Pioneers, while Oates had 12 points on 4-for-12 from three-point range for the Trailblazers. Mason added 11 points and five rebounds off the bench for North Greeneville, whose subs outscored Tusculum’s by a 30-28 margin.
Tusculum outrebounded North Greenville 38-33, the third straight opponent the Pioneers have beaten in the rebounding battle. Tusculum entered the game among the NCAA Division II leaders in rebounding (50.0 per game, fourth), free throw attempts per game (31.5, sixth) and bench scoring (39.0 ppg, 10th).
The Pioneers return home to host USC Aiken in the final non-conference game of the year on Saturday, Nov. 16 beginning at 2 p.m. The Pacers fell to 0-3 with a 57-41 loss to Emmanuel on Wednesday.
