GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Makayla Street scored 26 points and added 10 rebounds off the bench for Mars Hill University in a 70-67 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball Wednesday evening at Pioneer Arena.
Street scored eight of her 26 points in the fourth quarter, including five as part of a 7-0 run that gave the Lions (5-19, 2-15 SAC) the lead for good midway through the final period. Mars Hill shot just 18-for-33 (54.5 percent) from the foul line and 32.9 percent (23-for-70) from the field in the game, but held Tusculum to 7-for-36 (19.4 percent) from three-point range and outrebounded the Pioneers by a 51-50 margin.
Abbi Douglas led the Pioneers (2-21, 2-15 SAC) with 21 points and tied her career high with 12 rebounds for her fourth career double-double, while Ema Nagyova had 13 points and Josie Horner finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Tusculum shot 36.5 percent (27-for-74) from the field but attempted just nine free throws, making six.
Street was the only player for Mars Hill to reach double figures, shooting 9-for-18 from the field and 8-for-11 from the foul line in 32 minutes. Kindan Dawson scored nine points, including back-to-back threes near the end of the third quarter to give the Lions their first lead of the game, and Adrianna Gullette and Felesia Ondongo had nine points apiece as the Lions snapped a 15-game losing streak.
Douglas connected on 9-for-17 from the field and drilled three three-pointers to match her career high set against Alice Lloyd on Nov. 16, 2019 while playing for Cumberlands. Douglas' 12 rebounds matched her career best set last Feb. 22 against Newberry, and she also came up with three assists and a steal.
Tusculum needed just 2 1/2 minutes to take its biggest lead of the game, scoring the first nine points on a three-pointer by Nagyova along with baskets from Nagyova, Horner and Martina Garofalo. Mars Hill would go on a 7-0 run late in the quarter to pull within 15-14 on two foul shots by Shyann McCummings, but a three-pointer from Douglas and a late jumper from Angela Gomez gave the Pioneers a 20-17 lead after one period.
The Pioneers' lead would grow back to nine points on two occasions in the second quarter, the last time at 36-27 on a three-pointer from Caroline McDowell with 1:43 left in the half. Mars Hill scored the final five points of the quarter on a three-pointer by Gullette and two free throws from Street with 15.6 seconds left to leave the Pioneers on top 36-32 at intermission.
Douglas led the Pioneers with 14 points and nine rebounds in the first half as Tusculum shot 41 percent (16-for-39) from the field but just 4-for-22 from three-point range and 0-for-1 at the foul line. Mars Hill was paced by 13 points and six rebounds from Street, but the Lions shot just 27.8 percent (10-for-36) from the field and went 9-for-15 at the foul line.
Tusculum's lead went back to eight points three times in the third quarter, with a layup from Gomez giving the Pioneers a 50-42 advantage with 5:14 to play in the period. Four straight points from McCummings were part of an 11-2 run that pushed the Lions on top for the first time at 53-52 on a three-pointer by Dawson with 1:16 left. After Horner tied the game on a foul shot with 54 seconds left in the period, Dawson hit another three with 40.7 seconds left to send the Lions to the fourth with a 56-53 advantage.
The Pioneers would tie the game on a three-pointer by Douglas in the first 30 seconds of the fourth, and built a 60-57 lead following two free throws apiece from Gomez and Julia Szwichtenberg. A layup by Ondongo would give Mars Hill the lead for good at 61-60 with 6:02 remaining, and the Pioneers would endure a stretch of 8 1/2 minutes with just one field goal. A jumper by Garofalo off the Mars Hill cut the deficit to 69-67 with 26.2 seconds left, and Dawson made the second of two free throws to put the Lions up 70-67 with 14.7 seconds left. Tusculum would miss on two chances to cut the lead back to one, but two missed free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining gave the Pioneers a final chance. Nagyova had an open look from the corner at the buzzer, but her shot was off-target.
Garofalo had eight points and eight rebounds while playing all 40 minutes for the third straight game for the Pioneers, while Gomez had eight points and five boards in 30 minutes. Szwichtenberg finished with four points, seven rebounds and a season-high three blocked shots in 14 minutes off the bench, as the Pioneers had eight blocks as a team.
Tusculum finished the game with 19 turnovers which led to 16 points for Mars Hill, while the Lions turned the ball over 15 times which the Pioneers turned into 13 points. Thanks to Street's performance, Mars Hill had a 39-5 edge in bench scoring to go along with a 21-13 edge in fast break scoring.
The Pioneers host Newberry on Saturday, Feb. 14 beginning at 2 p.m. The Wolves are tied for eighth place in the SAC standings with Catawba at 6-11 in the league, which includes a 75-71 overtime victory over the Pioneers in the first meeting of the season at Eleazer Arena on Jan. 3.
