GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- After holding a 21-point lead late in the second half, the Tusculum College women's basketball team held off a late rally to earn an 84-78 victory over Lincoln Memorial University on Wednesday night inside Pioneer Arena. Senior forward Rainey Story and sophomore guard Maelyn Cutshaw each surpassed the 20-point mark for the Pioneers (6-14, 6-11 South Atlantic Conference).

Story led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting and a 6-of-9 effort from the free throw stripe. Cutshaw had 21 points with the help of four three pointers and shooting 6-for-13 from the floor.

Junior guard Shynese Whitener tallied 16 points and dished out a game-high six assists while senior guard Blakeley Burleson finished with 14 points and four steals. Junior forward Kristen McMillion pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds to go with seven points, four steals, and two blocks. It was her fourth 15-rebounds performance of the season.

TC led 71-50 with 6:44 remaining, but LMU (12-11, 9-8) used a 23-9 run to cut the score to just 79-73 with 2:16 showing on the clock. Following a missed jumper by Whitener, LMU rebounded the ball and She Coker nailed her second-straight three pointer in transition to cut the Pioneer lead to 79-76 with just over a minute to play.

TC passed the ball around after getting it into their offensive zone and found Cutshaw, who was fouled and sent to the line. Cutshaw stepped up and hit one of two free throws, giving TC a four-point advantage. LMU hustled down the floor and Kiara Rawls hit a transition layup to cut the deficit to 80-78 with 27 seconds remaining.

LMU was forced to foul with the shot clock off and sent Whitener to the line, who hit both free throws. Holding a four-point lead, the Pioneers forced a tough jumper by Shea, and McMillion corralled the rebound and was quickly fouled. She went to the line and missed both shots, but Burleson made a nice hustle play and grabbed the offensive board, and was then fouled and sent to the line with just five seconds left. Burleson hit both shots to seal the Pioneer's important six-point victory.

Shea and Rawls both finished with 16 points for Lincoln Memorial, while Sydnie Anderson tallied 12 points off the bench. Each team grabbed 43 rebounds, and both were nearly identical from the floor with the Railsplitters shooting 40.4 percent (23-57) and the Pioneers shooting 40.3 percent (29-72), despite TC taking 15 more shots. Tusculum forced 24 LMU turnovers which led to 31 points, compared to just 17 of its own. TC also held a 31-15 advantage in second chance points with the help of 21 offensive rebounds.

The competitive first half featured four ties and seven lead changes. With the game knotted at 17, TC used a 10-0 run to take a 27-17 advantage with 8:39 remaining in the first period. LMU later cut the lead back to nine, but Story answered with six-straight points to push the Pioneer lead to 37-22 with 3:48 before halftime. The Railsplitters scored nine of the first half's final 15 points, but TC took a 41-31 lead into the halftime locker room.

Lincoln Memorial opened the second half with a made free throw, but Cutshaw answered with a three ball to begin TC's second frame, and the Pioneers held a comfortable double-digit lead until the late Railsplitter run. Leading 64-50 with 7:34 remaining, Tusculum used a 7-0 run capped off by a pair of Cutshaw free throws to take its largest lead of the game at 71-50.

Tusculum will be back in action on Saturday at Pioneer Arena against Newberry in its annual "Play 4 Kay" game. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.