Kristen McMillion grabbed 23 rebounds to finish one shy of the school single-game record and Shynese Whitener and Nequoiah Anderson scored 23 points apiece as Tusculum College beat Mars Hill Universty 83-61 Wednesday night in South Atlantic Conference Women's basketball action at Pioneer Arena.

McMillion, who had set a career-high with 21 rebounds Monday night at Lincoln Memorial, pulled 13 of her 23 boards on the offensive glass to match the second-best single game rebounding performance in school history. Stephany Neptune holds the record with 24 rebounds against Lincoln Memorial on March 4, 2009.

McMillion, the SAC leader in rebounding with 11.7 boards per game, became the first player in school history with 20 rebounds in back-to-back games. She has reached double figures in rebounds in 10 of the last 11 games and 16 times overall this season.

Whitener matched her career high with 23 points set Jan. 25 at Coker by going 10-for-20 from the field, and also matched her career best with nine rebounds to go along with six assists, two blocked shots and a pair of steals. Whitener has had at least one steal in 17 straight games and has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 11 games.

Anderson surpassed the 20-point mark for the second straight game and sixth time in the last 10 games, shooting 7-for-14 from the floor, including a pair of three-pointers and connecting on 7-for-9 at the foul line. Anderson scored 17 of her points in the first half to help the Pioneers to a 39-36 lead at intermission.

Tusculum finished the game with four players in double figures, with Blakeley Burleson tallying 14 points and a career-high eight assists and Maelyn Cutshaw notching 11 points to go along with six rebounds. McMillion just missed giving the Pioneers all five starters in double figures as she had eight points along with five steals to complement her gaudy rebound total.

With their sixth win in the last eight games, the Pioneers (7-16, 7-12 SAC) moved within two games of Anderson and Coker for the eighth and final spot in the Food Lion SAC Tournament field with three games remaining. The Pioneers face the Trojans and Cobras during the final week of the regular season in their effort to rally from an 0-5 start in league play.

The Lions (6-17, 5-14 SAC) were led by Greeneville native Ansley Ricker who had 18 points along with six rebounds and three steals. Kelsey Espinosa also scored in double figures with 11 points, but the Lions shot 40.7 percent from the field overall including 34.5 percent (10-for-29) in the decisive second half.

Tusculum bolted to an early 11-4 lead following a layup by Cutshaw with six minutes gone in the first half, but the Lions rattled off a 10-2 run to take their only lead of the night at 14-13 on a three-pointer by Sydney Comer with 11:47 left in the half.

The Pioneers would lead by as many as six points later in the half before taking a 39-36 lead to the break. In addition to Anderson's 17 points, the Pioneers received eight points from Cutshaw and 13 boards from McMillion and offset 35.1 percent shooting by going 11-for-16 at the foul line and committing just five turnovers.

Ricker paced the Lions with 11 points in the first half, but Mars Hill committed 10 turnovers and trailed despite shooting a solid 46.7 percent (14-for-30) as a team, including 4-for-5 from three-point range.

Mars Hill pulled within a point at 46-45 on a layup by Espinosa with 15:42 left, and still trailed 49-47 with 15:09 remaining before Whitener and the Pioneers broke out on a 13-0 run to take command. Whitener scored 11 straight points during the run for the Pioneers, while the Lions turned the ball over on four consecutive trips down the court.

Tusculum continued to widen the margin, taking its biggest lead of the game at 83-55 on a three-point play by McMillion with 3:27 to go. As a team, Tusculum shot 51.5 percent (17-for-33) from the field in the second half, including 5-for-6 from three-point range.

The Pioneers finished the game with a 45-37 advantage in rebouding over Mars Hill, and shot 16-for-22 from the foul line compared to 9-for-13 by the Lions. Tusculum also had 20 assists on its 30 field goals and came up with 14 steals on Mars Hill's 18 turnovers.

Tusculum will host 24th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Arena. The league-leading Bears defeated the Pioneers 84-45 in the teams' first meeting in Hickory, N.C. on Jan. 11.