Wingate, N.C.----Tusculum College senior guard Shynese Whitener (Newton, N.C.) scored 19 of her game-high 22 points after intermission, lifting the visiting Pioneers to a 57-56 South Atlantic Conference women's basketball victory over Wingate University in Cuddy Arena and Thomas Koontz Family Court Sunday afternoon. The Pioneers trailed by 10 points at halftime.
 
With the triumph, Tusculum improves to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the SAC. Wingate is 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the SAC. The Bulldogs visit Lincoln Memorial University Wednesday night for a 6 p.m. league contest. The TC Pioneers host Lenoir-Rhyne University the same night for a 6 p.m. SAC encounter.
 
"Tusculum played a great second half," Wingate head women's basketball coach Ann Hancock says. "Shynese Whitener is having a tremendous year for them. She was huge down the stretch."
 
Whitener played the last seven-plus minutes of the fourth quarter with four fouls. She has scored 20 or more points five times this season (in seven games), including the last four in a row. TC junior forward Jasmine Queen (Riverview, Fla.) had 12 points and seven rebounds, including the game-winning free throw with six seconds to go.
 
Tusculum freshman guard Sydney Wilson (Greensboro, N.C.) had 11 points on the strength of a team-high three three-point field goals. Pioneer senior forward Kristen McMillion (Fayetteville, N.C.) had a game-high 12 rebounds as Tusculum outrebounded Wingate 42-34. McMillion filled out her stat sheet with four points, five assists, five blocked shots and three steals.
 
For Wingate, freshman guard Danasia Witherspoon (Hickory, N.C.) had 14 points and seven rebounds. Bulldog junior guard Shelby Tricoli (Waynesville, N.C.) had 13 points. She matched Tusculum's Wilson with three three-point field goals of her own. Wingate senior forward Morgan McGee (Durham, N.C.) had 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
 
"We have to do a better job boxing out and securing rebounds down the stretch as well as finishing plays on the offensive end," Hancock says. "We need to be able to close out games.  With so many new faces, it is a process which hopefully we can speed up."
 
The host Bulldogs led 45-40 entering the fourth quarter. Wingate extended its lead to 51-43 when freshman point guard Courtney Robinson (Taylors, S.C.) hit a short jumper with 6:54 remaining. Tusculum answered with a 11-3 run to tie the game at 54-54 on a McMillion hoop (on a Whitener dish) with 3:06 left.
 
On the next trip down the floor, Whitener followed her own miss (2:17) to give the visitors their first lead since early in the second quarter (16-15). McGee hit two free throws with 1:07 to go, tying the score for the third and final time at 56-56.
 
In Tusculum's game-winning possession, Whitener missed a triple and McMillion got the rebound. After a Pioneer time-out, Whitener missed another three-pointer and Queen got the board. She was fouled and made the first of two free throws to win the game. Wingate missed a jumper in the paint as time expired.
 
Wingate's 35-25 halftime lead was the Bulldogs' largest margin of the afternoon. Tricoli led both teams with her 13 first-half points. Wingate shot 44.4 percent in the first half (12-of-27), but hit only 22.6 percent of its field goals after intermission (seven-of-31). The Bulldogs finished the contest shooting at a 32.8 percent clip (19-of-58). Wingate hit four-of-nine three-pointers in the first half, but misfired on three-of-three long-range attempts in the second half.
 
Tusculum converted 41.1 percent of its field goals (23-of-56), making 40.7 percent in the first half (11-of-27) and 41.4 percent in the pivotal second half (12-of-29). The Pioneers blocked six Bulldog shots and collected nine steals.
 
Wingate prevailed in four of the five specialty statistics categories. The Bulldogs had 26 points in the paint, compared to 24 for the Pioneers. Wingate converted 19 Tusculum turnovers into 18 points, while the Pioneers turned 14 Bulldog miscues into 12 markers. Wingate held a slight 13-9 edge in second-chance points, while the Bulldog bench outscored the Pioneer reserves 9-8.