Williams' Career-High 23 Not Enough for Lady Eagles at Tusculum, 94-91
Feb. 14, 2009
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Jasmine Gunn recorded 28 points and nine assists to lead the No. 14 Tusculum College women's basketball team to a 94-91 South Atlantic Conference victory over Carson-Newman College Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.
The Pioneers (21-3, 11-2 SAC) have won four in a row and remain in a tie for first place in the league. TC avenges an earlier season loss to the Lady Eagles (16-7, 7-5 SAC) and C-N suffers its second straight three-point loss to a nationally-ranked team (C-N dropped an overtime loss to No. 23 Lenoir-Rhyne University on Wednesday).
TC also extends its home winning-streak to 21 in a row, dating back to Feb. 12, 2007 when C-N edged the Pioneers 71-70.
Stephany Neptune contributed a double-double with a season-high 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Nikki Van Dine added 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting from three-point territory. Kat Spears, Ashli Oliver and Shantae Shank each posted eight points in the TC victory.
Carson-Newman's Zoriah Williams tallied 23 points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Shari Buford finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. Buford, who leads the nation in field goal percentage, shot 8-for-14 from the floor. Ashley Tipton added 16 points and five assists, while Ashley Kyle finished with 14 markers, including a dozen in the second half.
The contest was a thriller that saw seven ties and eight lead changes. In the first half, Tusculum led 20-12 at the 12:36 mark following a lay-up by Neptune to cap a 9-2 TC run. C-N responded with 15-7 spurt to take a 27-25 lead with 7:07 left before halftime thanks to back-to-back three-pointers by Tipton.
With the score tied at 34-34 with 4:04 remaining in the period, Tusculum rattled off six straight points, including four free throws by Gunn and a bucket by Shantae Shank as the Pioneers led 40-34 with two minutes remaining. The Lady Eagles responded with six in a row of their own, all from the free throw line to knot the contest at 40-40. Van Dine knocked down her four trey of the half with 27 seconds left as TC took a 43-40 advantage into the locker room.
In the first half, Tusculum out-rebounded C-N by a 26-14 margin, but the Lady Eagles went 13-for-15 at the free throw line and shot 46.2 percent from the floor.
In the second half, the Pioneers opened the period with a 15-4 run in the first 4:07 to move out to their largest lead of the afternoon at 58-44 with 15:53 left on the clock thanks to a Van Dine three-pointer.
With the Tusculum leading 69-58 with 11 minutes left, C-N would retaliate with a 17-4 run over the next five minutes as the Lady Eagles led 75-73 with 6:43 left in the game. During the C-N run, Kyle contributed seven points, while Tipton made three free throws following a technical foul on the Tusculum bench.
Neither team would enjoy more than a two point lead over the next three minutes as the score was tied 78-78 with 3:47 left in the game. Tusculum scored five straight points on a pair of free throws from Gunn and a trifecta from Van Dine to give TC an 83-78 advantage with 3:31 remaining.
Tusculum would maintain at least a four-point lead over the next three minutes as the Pioneers kept their distance thanks to some solid free throw shooting making seven of its final eight free throws to seal the victory.
TC shot 18-for-19 at the free throw line (94.7%) for the game, making its first 17 in a row. C-N fired 27-for-33 at the foul line (81.8%) while narrowing the rebound margin in the second half. TC won the battle of the boards (40-36), but the Lady Eagles out-rebounded the Pioneers 22-14 in the final 20 minutes.
Tusculum entered the game as the No. 1 field goal percentage team in the country (NCAA II), the Pioneers shot 46.6 percent from the floor, including 18-for-32 (56.3%) in the second half.
Tusculum is back in action on Wednesday as the Pioneers travel to Newberry College for a 6 p.m. league tilt at Eleazer Arena. Carson-Newman will be at Brevard College on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
(Courtesy Tusculum Sports Information)
