YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. --- A third-quarter run sparked Young Harris College to a 64-54 victory over Tusculum University in non-conference women's basketball Wednesday afternoon from the Harp Recreation and Commencement Center.
The Mountain Lions (8-4) scored 12 straight points over a span of four minutes early in the second half to erase a seven-point deficit, led by Annalise Malone who scored 12 of her game-high 19 points after intermission. Kamryn Bates added 15 points and eight assists and Rhiannon Saller had 10 points and eight boards off the bench for Young Harris, which outrebounded Tusculum by a 36-26 margin.
Abbi Douglas led the Pioneers (1-10) with 14 points and six rebounds with Ema Nagyova collecting 11 points and four assists in 23 minutes off the Tusculum bench. The Pioneers shot 36.8 percent (21-for-57) from the field and 8-for-25 on three-pointers, with Nagyova sinking three triples in seven attempts.
Tusculum led nearly the entire first quarter until a three-pointer from Bates put Young Harris on top 13-11 with 1:45 left in the period. Telma Balague beat the buzzer with a three-pointer to give the Mountain Lions an 18-13 advantage after one quarter. The Young Harris run would reach 14-2 following a three-point play from Bates with 9:32 left in the first half, before three-pointers from Josie Horner and Douglas brought the Pioneers within 23-19 with 8:01 left in the half.
The Pioneers regained the lead at 25-24 on a three-pointer from Aisha Patel with 4:29 left in the first half, and Tusculum closed the half with six straight points from Angela Gomez and Martina Garofalo to carry a 35-30 lead to intermission. Douglas led the Pioneers with 10 points in the first half as Tusculum shot 43.8 percent (14-for-32) from the field, with four points and six assists from Gomez and six points and five rebounds from Dora Van Rijs.
A layup by Julia Szwichtenberg on the Pioneers' first possession of the second half gave Tusculum its largest lead at 37-30, but the Pioneers would go five minutes until scoring again as Young Harris reeled off 12 points in a row. Bates put the Mountain Lions on top 39-37 on a layup with 5:53 left in the third quarter, and Saller capped the quarter with a layup with 45 seconds left to send Young Harris to the fourth quarter with a 49-44 lead.
Young Harris went up 60-51 on a three-pointer from Lilly Griffith with 5:26 remaining, and a three-pointer from Garofalo with 3:52 left was answered on the next trip by Malone as Young Harris held Tusculum scoreless the rest of the way.
Gomez had a career-high eight assists to go along with four points in 36 minutes for the Pioneers, while Van Rijs collected six points, six rebounds and a pair of steals. Garofalo played 38 minutes for the Pioneers and finished with seven points, three rebounds and three assists. For Young Harris, Griffith had a game-high nine rebounds while Malone was 4-for-10 on three-pointers to help the Mountain Lions shoot 37.5 percent (9-for-24) from beyond the arc.
With its non-conference schedule complete, Tusculum will return to South Atlantic Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 3 at Newberry beginning at 3 p.m. The Wolves are 8-3 overall and are coming off back-to-back conference wins over Emory & Henry and Anderson prior to the holiday break.
