GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Lenoir-Rhyne University came back from an eight-point halftime deficit and used a 20-8 second-half run to earn a 69-54 victory over Tusculum College in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside Pioneer Arena. Junior guard Shynese Whitener led the Pioneers with 15 points.

Tusculum's overall record falls to 3-8 while its conference mark slips to 3-5. Lenoir-Rhyne improves to 5-7 overall and an even 4-4 in the SAC. The victory was the first for the Bears in Greeneville since 2004.

Senior guard Blakely Burleson and Brianna Mitchell each tallied nine points for the Pioneers, while sophomore guard Maelyn Cutshaw finished with eight. Junior forward Kristen McMillion and Whitener each had a team-high eight rebounds.

Tusculum trailed by five after a layup by the Bears' Jordan Hiatt with 5:30 to play in the first half. In TC's next possession, Mitchell hit a layup while being fouled and finished the three-point play at the line. The Pioneers scored the game's next five points to take a 24-22 lead with 3:39 remaining before halftime.

Lenoir-Ryhne's Morgan Cooper broke up the 8-0 run with a made free throw, but McMillion and Mitchell scored in back-to-back possessions to push the Pioneers' lead to 28-23 with just over two and a half minutes to play before the break. The Bears answered with a 4-0 spurt of their own to trim the lead to 28-27, however, Whitener scored seven-straight points on her own in the first half's final minute to give TC a 35-27 in the locker room.

Tusculum held the lead for the first six minutes of the second half, but didn't score a field goal for the game's next seven minutes and trailed 53-43 with 8:14 remaining. Lenoir-Rhyne used a 10-0 run to put the game out of reach, and led 69-49 with just over a minute to play. The Pioneers did score the game's final five points, but the Bears earned the 15-point victory.

Jazmine Charles led the way for Lenoir-Rhyne with a game-high 21 points. Morgan Cooper and Brooke Robinson each recorded double-doubles for the bears with Cooper totaling 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Robinson finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Jenni Gust chipped-in 12 points.

The Pioneers held a 15-10 advantage in second chance points with the help of 11 offensive rebounds, and they out-scored the Lenoir-Rhyne bench 15-0. The Bears had a 46-31 rebounding advantage and a 44-18 advantage in points in the paint.

Tusculum will begin a three-game road trip on Wednesday night in Harrogate, Tennessee against Lincoln Memorial University. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.