Nequoiah Anderson hit a driving layup with 8.4 seconds left as Tusculum College rallied from a 17-point deficit in the final 11 minutes to stun Queens University 65-64 in South Atlantic Conference Women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena.

Anderson capped a 21-point performance by scoring 11 points in the final 2:45 as the Pioneers (4-14, 4-10 SAC) erased a 12-point Royals lead in the final 3:25 to earn their third straight victory in unlikely fashion.

The comeback spoiled a brilliant performance from Queens' Shonice Pettaway, who scored 36 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Royals (5-13, 4-10 SAC) built a 50-33 lead with 9:40 to go, only to be outscored by the Pioneers 32-14 the rest of the way to suffer their sixth straight loss.

Blakeley Burleson and Shynese Whitener had 14 points apiece for the Pioneers, who shot just 22.6 percent (7-for-31) from the field in the first half but rallied to shoot 54.8 percent (17-for-31) in the second half, including 5-for-10 from three-point range. Kristen McMillion had seven points and 10 rebounds as the SAC rebounding leader reached double figures for the sixth straight game and the 12th time this season.

Queens appeared to be in control when Pettaway hit a jumper with 9:40 left to give the Royals a 50-33 lead, but three-pointers from Anderson and Burleson and a putback by McMillion capped a 12-2 run that cut the Queens advantage to 52-45 with 6:41 remaining.

A three-point play by Pettaway with 4:55 left gave the Royals a 59-46 lead, but that would be the last of her 23 shot attempts in the game. McMillion made two free throws with 3:24 remaining to trim the margin to 59-48, then Anderson hit a three to make it a 59-51 game with 2:41 on the clock. Whitener then came up with a steal and bucket to cut the Queens lead to 59-53 with 2:22 to go, but Nikia Squire answered with a fast-break layup to restore the Royals' eight-point margin.

Whitener sank a jumper to bring the Pioneers to within 61-55 at 1:59, then converted another steal into a basket to pull the Pioneers with 61-57 with 1:25 left. Squire sank a layup on the break at the other end to push the Royals ahead 63-57, but Anderson buried a three-pointer with just under a minute left to cut the margin to three.

Squire hit one out of two at the line to extend the Queens lead to 64-60 with 39.8 seconds to go, but Anderson came through again from long range to bring the Pioneers within one point at 64-63 with 32.9 seconds left. Erin Brundage missed two free throws with 26.7 seconds left for the Royals, then Whitener found a cutting Anderson all alone down the lane for the go-ahead hoop with 8.4 seconds on the clock.

Forgoing a timeout, the Royals came down court looking for the winning shot, but Squire's hurried three-pointer at the horn was off the rim and the Pioneers escaped with the victory.

Queens shot 45.3 percent (29-for-64) from the field in the game, including 57.1 percent (16-for-28) in the second half, but went just 2-for-7 from the foul line and missed their final three attempts in the final minute. The Pioneers were 11-for-16 at the stripe in the game as a team, and were outrebounded 41-37 by the Royals in the contest.

The first half was all Royals as they scored the first six points and sprinted to a 10-2 lead behind six points from Pettaway. Queens led 20-4 following a putback from Pettaway with 10:03 left in the first half, but Tusculum responded with an 11-2 run to pull within 22-15 on a three-pointer by Elise Coberly with 4:05 remaining in the half. Pettaway pushed the margin to 12 when she hit a three-pointer with 1:04 left in the half, but the Pioneers were able to close the deficit to 27-17 at the break following a putback by Jessica Hairston with five seconds remaining.

Pettaway led all players with 15 points and eight rebounds in the first half, while Lacey Singletary had eight points and six rebounds. Burleson had four points and five rebounds for the Pioneers in the opening half, while Whitener and Anderson had four points apiece as well.

Singletary finished the game with 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots for the Royals, while Squire flirted with a triple-double with nine points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in 37 minutes. Burleson matched her season high with eight rebounds and did not turn the ball over in 38 minutes of playing time.

The Pioneers will look to extend their winning streak to four games when they host Anderson for the first meeting of the year between the teams. Game time will be 6 p.m. Wednesday at Pioneer Arena.