ANDERSON, S.C. --- Anderson University finished the game on a 14-4 run to help claim a 66-50 victory over Tusculum College on Wednesday night in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball action in Anderson, South Carolina. Tusculum (5-13, 5-10 SAC) junior guard Shynese Whitener led all scorers with 19 points.

Junior forward Kristen McMillion pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds and was just two points shy of a double-double with eight. Senior guard Blakeley Burleson tallied nine points while senior forward Rainey Story added seven points off the bench. Whitener was 8-for-18 from the field and dished out a team-high three assists.

A three-point play by Story capped off a 7-0 run by the Pioneers that cut the 13-point Trojan (16-3, 13-3) lead to just six at 52-46 with 6:17 remaining in the game. However, Anderson answered right back with a 7-0 run of its own over the next three minutes, and held a 59-46 lead with just over three minutes to play.

Burleson broke up the run with a pair of free throws, but after Story connected on one-of-two from the line a few possessions later, the Trojans still held a 59-49 lead with just over a minute remaining. TC was forced to foul to try and re-gain possession in the final minute, but Anderson went to the line and hit five-of-six free throw attempts to seal the victory.

Three players scored in double-figures for the Trojans led by Madison Floyd who had 13 points. Jasmine Franklin tallied 11 points while Sierra Simpson registered a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Burleson knocked down a three-pointer in the first possession of the game to give TC its only lead of the contest. Later in the first half, Anderson used a 9-0 run to turn a slim 9-7 advantage to an 18-7 lead with just under 13 minutes to play until halftime.

A layup by sophomore guard Maelyn Cutshaw made the score 29-26 in favor of the Trojans at the 1:38 mark of the opening half, the closest TC would come to the lead for the rest of the game. Anderson answered with back-to-back jumpers before senior guard Brianna Mitchell scored her only bucket of the game to make the score 33-28 with 38 seconds remaining in the half. Franklin scored the final points of the period on a layup with 16 ticks on the clock that set the score at 35-28 at halftime.

Both teams struggled from the field with TC shooting 37.3 percent (19-for-51) while Anderson shot just 33.8 percent from the floor (24-for-71). The Trojans held a 50-38 rebounding advantage including 24 offensive boards which led to 11 second chance points.

Tusculum will be back in action on Saturday (Feb. 7) when it wraps up a three-game road swing in Salisbury, North Carolina against Catawba College. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.