Senior center Catherine Hintz and sophomore guard Kendal Baxter shared the game high in scoring with 12 points apiece off the bench for the Pioneers (4-4), who were playing their first home game of the season after opening the year with seven straight road games. Hintz also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and blocked four shots in 19 minutes for the Pioneers, while Baxter connected on four three-pointers in the victory.
Ashley Deans was the lone player to reach double figures for the Tornado (2-9), finishing with team highs of 11 points and seven rebounds. As a team, King shot 33.3 percent (20-for-60) and committed 20 turnovers which led to 22 Tusculum points.
Joining Baxter and Hintz in double figures for the Pioneers were junior forwards Staci Hicks and Linda Aughburns along with senior guard Jasmine Gunn, each with 10 points. Gunn also dished out a game-high six assists while Aughburns pulled eight rebounds for Tusculum.
The Pioneers scored on the game's opening possession on a three-pointer by senior guard Brittni Oliver and never trailed, turning a 30-18 halftime lead into a 53-31 advantage midway through the second half. Tusculum shot 46.2 percent (30-for-65) from the field and enjoyed a 45-33 advantage in rebounding over King.
Tusculum led 11-2 after six minutes of action and extended their advantage to 20-4 with 7:55 left in the first half on a putback by Aughburns. King trimmed the deficit to nine at 27-18 following a basket by Jessica Tharpe with 45 seconds left in the first half, but Baxter drilled a three-pointer with 11 seconds to go to send the Pioneers to intermission with a 30-18 lead.
In the second half, the Pioneers scored on their first four field-goal attempts to go ahead 38-20 with 17:33 left, and pushed their lead to 20 at 49-29 on a basket by Aughburns with 11:16 to play. Tusculum pulled away down the stretch, scoring 13 of the game's final 15 points over the final 3 1/2 minutes.
Tusculum's bench finished with a 33-12 edge in bench scoring, with sophomore forward Fayola Moise registering a career high with eight points in 17 minutes to supplement the efforts of Baxter and Hintz.
The Pioneers were whistled for just seven fouls in the contest, allowing their only foul shot with 4:25 left in the second half when Deans completed a three-point play. Tusculum shot 9-for-15 from the stripe, with Gunn leading the way by going 4-for-6 at the stripe.
Senior guard Jasmine Parker finished with just four points for the Pioneers, but chipped in across the scoresheet by tallying six rebounds, four assists and a game-high four steals over 23 minutes of playing time. Oliver added seven points and four rebounds for the Pioneers, while freshman guard Nequoiah Anderson played 10 minutes and contributed a free throw, one rebound and a pair of assists.
Tusculum will be back in action in eight days, when the squad travels to Shaw for a non-conference battle on Thursday, December 16.
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