Lander captures battle of top-five teams, 72-48

Jasmine Gunn scores 21 to move into third place on TC career scoring list

GREENWOOD, S.C. --- In a battle of preseason top-five teams, fourth-ranked Lander University went on a 38-3 run over a 12-minute span and defeated third-ranked Tusculum College 72-48 in the Lady Bearcat D-II Tip-Off Classic Saturday evening at Horne Arena.

The Lady Bearcats (1-0) avenged a 70-63 loss to the Pioneers (0-1) in last year's NCAA Division II Southeast Regional championship game by outscoring Tusculum 34-3 over the final 9:07 of the first half to turn an 18-15 deficit into a 49-21 advantage. Lander held Tusculum without a field goal for a span of 11 minutes, 59 seconds during the run.

Shannon McKever and Tasheba Butler each finished with double-doubles for the Lady Bearcats, as McKever tallied 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four blocked shots and five steals while Butler added 18 points and a game-high 14 boards.

Preseason Division II National Player of the Year Jasmine Gunn finished with 21 points for the Pioneers, vaulting her past Carla Lloyd (1,629 points from 1989-93) and Lydia Taylor (1,632 points from 1994-98) into third place on the school's career scoring list with 1,640 points.

Gunn and Kendal Baxter provided the majority of the offense for Tusculum, as Baxter came off the bench to drill three three-pointers and finish with 11 points. However, the Pioneers shot just 30.8 percent (16-for-52) from the field overall and connected on 12-of-21 free-throw attempts.

Brittni Johnson also reached double figures for Lander, tallying 14 points while handing out a game-high seven assists. The Lady Bearcats shot 41.4 percent for the game (24-for-58), including 7-for-15 from three-point range, and hit on 17-of-18 from the foul line.

Tusculum built a 16-10 lead eight minutes into the game as Baxter hit three straight three-pointers, and held an 18-15 lead as the teams passed the midway point of the first half. However, the final nine minutes of the half were dominated by the Lady Bearcats as Lander went 8-for-14 from the field and 11-for-12 from the foul line, while Tusculum misfired on its last 15 shots of the half.

Butler paced the Lady Bearcats with 12 points and five rebounds in the opening half, while McKever added 10 points, five boards and four assists. Baxter led the Pioneers with 11 points, with Gunn tallying seven points.

Lander's lead grew to 32 points at 53-21 following a basket by McKever in the opening minute of the second half, before Gunn broke the run with a layup at the 19:06 mark. The Pioneers finished the game on a positive note, outscoring the Lady Bearcats 27-23 in the second half while holding Lander to 30.8 percent shooting (8-for-26) and forcing 12 turnovers.

In her first game for the Pioneers, UNC Asheville transfer Linda Aughburns came off the bench to grab a team-high 11 rebounds and score four points in 25 minutes of action.

Tusculum will be back on the court Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. against USC Aiken on the second day of the Classic. The Pacers defeated Carson-Newman 62-36 in Saturday's opening game.

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