Chowan University erased a seven-point halftime deficit and defeated Tusculum College 75-69 in non-conference Women's basketball action Saturday afternoon.

Alisha Mobley led the Hawks (3-1) with 17 points and nine rebounds and Kaela Nelson added 12 points and 10 boards as Chowan outscored Tusculum 51-38 in the second half after trailing 31-24 at halftime.

Blakeley Burleson and Shynese Whitener each set career highs for the Pioneers (0-1) with 16 points apiece and Nequoiah Anderson added 15 points, but the Pioneers committed 23 turnovers and shot 37.5 percent (24-for-64) from the field in the game.

Courtni Williams also reached double figures for the Hawks with 12 points to go along with a game-high eight assists. Chowan shot 47.2 percent (17-for-36) from the field in the second half, including five three-pointers, and was able to turn the 23 Tusculum turnovers into 20 points.

Tusculum came out firing from long range, as Burleson hit a pair of three-pointers and Anderson another as the Pioneers took a 12-9 lead after five minutes. The Pioneers built their largest lead of the game at 27-17 on a layup by Jessica Hairston with 5:11 to go in the first half, and carried a 31-24 lead into the locker room behind 12 points from Burleson and six apiece from Whitener and Hairston.

The Hawks chipped away at the deficit and regained the lead with four minutes gone in the second half at 35-34 on a putback by Chantel Roberts. Trailing 51-50 with just over nine minutes left, Tusculum ran off six straight points on two free throws by Anderson, a layup by Whitener and a jumper from Brianna Mitchell to go on top 56-51 with 7:46 left.

However, the Hawks responded with a 17-4 run over the next 5 1/2 minutes to take their largest lead of the game at 68-60 with 2:11 left on a Williams jumper. Tusculum went just 1-for-4 from the field with four turnovers during the run, while Chowan went 6-for-8 including three-pointers from Williams, Nelson and Rachel Gostomski.

Tusculum would get no closer than five on two occasions in the final 75 seconds, as Chowan went 7-for-10 at the foul line in the last minute of the game. Overall, Chowan was 19-for-28 on free throws while Tusculum ended the day 17-for-26 at the stripe.

Mitchell enjoyed a strong debut for the Pioneers as she had nine points and a team-high nine rebounds in 35 minutes. Hairston was solid in her first collegiate game as the freshman had nine points on 4-for-6 shooting, grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots in 28 minutes.

Elise Coberly added three points and four boards off the bench and Tayleah Neal swept four rebounds in seven minutes of action, helping Tusculum win the battle on the glass by a slim 48-47 margin.

Preseason All-CIAA selection Summer Curtis played just 10 minutes for the Hawks but battled her way to 10 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots before fouling out with 1:15 left. She helped the Hawks finish the game with a 24-12 advantage in bench scoring over the Pioneers.

Tusculum opens its South Atlantic Conference schedule on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. at Carson-Newman against the Eagles.