GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's basketball team will conclude January with three straight home games, starting Wednesday, Jan. 19 against Queens University of Charlotte at Pioneer Arena.

Wednesday's game is the only scheduled contest of the week for the Pioneers (6-10, 4-8 South Atlantic Conference), who were limited to one game last week after Mars Hill was unable to play Wednesday night due to COVID-19 protocols. That game has been rescheduled for Monday, Feb. 7 at 5:30 p.m. at Mars Hill's Stanford Arena.

In their only game last week, the Pioneers snapped a two-game skid with a 64-45 victory at Coker on Saturday afternoon. The victory over the Cobras improved Tusculum to 3-5 in road games and 4-5 away from home this season, and was the sixth time in 15 games that the Pioneers have held an opponent to under 50 points.

Four of Tusculum's seven home games this season have come against nationally-ranked opponents, with the Pioneers going 1-3 in those games. Tusculum is 2-5 at home this season after going 20-5 at home in the previous two years (9-2 last season, 11-3 in 2019-20). The Pioneers last finished with a losing home record in 2016-17 (3-9) and have gone 44-16 at Pioneer Arena since the start of the 2017-18 campaign.

Wednesday's game against Queens has been designated as the "We Back Pat" Game as part of an effort to bring awareness and recognition to the Pat Summitt Foundation and its fight against Alzheimer's Disease. The foundation was launched in 2011 following the legendary Lady Vols coach's diagnosis of early onset dementia. To learn more, visit www.patsummitt.org or follow the foundation on Twitter at @WeBackPat.

RECAPPING THE WEEK
Four players finished in double figures and Tusculum held Coker to 26.9 percent shooting as the Pioneers picked up a 64-45 victory Saturday afternoon at the DeLoach Center.

Brianna Dixon scored a game-high 17 points, Deidre Cheremond added 15 points and seven rebounds and Mya Belton recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Pioneers, who outrebounded the Cobras by a 44-28 margin and outscored Coker 17-3 in second-chance points to earn their 12th consecutive victory in the series.

Jalia Arnwine also reached double figures for Tusculum with 12 points as the Pioneers outscored the Cobras 36-22 in the second half after leading by five at halftime. Sophie Henry returned to action for the Pioneers after missing five games due to injury and contributed a career-high six rebounds along with two points, three assists and three steals in 28 minutes.

Belton's double-double was her sixth of the season, while Dixon's 17 points were her most since scoring 21 in her season debut against Newberry on Dec. 15. With her 12 points against Coker, Arnwine moved within 20 points of becoming the 20th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.

PROFILING THE PIONEERS
Belton has scored in double figures in 10 straight games and 13 times in 16 games this season. She has six double-doubles in the last nine games, and over the last 10 games Belton is averaging 13.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. For the season, Belton is averaging team highs of 12.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and ranks third in the SAC in rebounding and seventh in blocked shots (1.3 per game). Belton's six double-doubles are tied for second in the SAC with De'Ja Marshall of Mars Hill, trailing only Haleigh Brandon of Wingate with seven.

Arnwine hit double figures for the 10th time this season in Saturday's win over Coker and leads the Pioneers with 31 three-pointers on 36.0 percent shooting. Arnwine (12.1 ppg) is fifth in the SAC with her 31 threes, and she leads the conference in minutes per game with 35.9 per contest, which includes five games of 40 minutes and two with 39.

Dixon has averaged 12.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in six games this season, scoring in double figures four times. Dixon is shooting 82.1 percent (23-for-28) from the foul line and has played an average of 38 minutes per game in January.

Henry started at point guard for the Pioneers against Coker after missing five games with an injury sustained at Lander on Dec. 11. Her six rebounds surpassed her season and career high of five set against Carson-Newman on Nov. 17 and UVA Wise on Nov. 27, while her three steals marked the seventh time in 11 games that Henry had two or more thefts in a game this season.

Tusculum went 9-for-9 at the foul line against Coker, the first time that the Pioneers were perfect from the stripe in a game since hitting 8-for-8 at Anderson on Feb. 15, 2020. The Pioneers are 85.7 percent (48-for-56) from the foul line over their last four games.

The Pioneers have led at halftime in six straight games and nine of their last 10 contests after trailing at the half in five of their first six games this season. Tusculum last led at the half in six straight games from Dec. 5 to Jan. 16 of last season, and has not led in seven straight at intermission since leading in eight in a row from Jan. 30-Feb. 23, 2019.

After holding Coker to 26.9 percent from the field, the Pioneers remain atop the SAC in field goal defense at 36.1 percent, while ranking third in scoring defense at 60.5 points per game. On offense, the Pioneers are 10th in scoring offense at 59.0 ppg and ninth in shooting at 36.2 percent. Tusculum has slipped to eighth in the SAC in three-point shooting at 28.1 percent, going 6-for-64 from beyond the arc (9.4 percent) over the past 2 1/2 games since halftime of the Jan. 5 game against Wingate.

SCOUTING THE ROYALS
Queens (4-9, 3-9 SAC) dropped its second straight on Saturday with a 77-74 loss at UVA Wise. On Wednesday, Queens lost 102-80 at home to Anderson despite a school-record 41 points from junior guard Kalaya Hall, who scored 21 against UVA Wise and has hit double figures 12 times in 13 games this season.

Hall ranks third in the SAC in scoring at 18.3 points per game and is second in the conference in three-pointers attempted with 98, hitting 29 to rank fifth in the SAC with 2.23 per game. Hall, who had 15 points in 29 minutes against Tusculum in the first meeting of the season on Dec. 1, has scored 20 or more points five times. Sophomore guard Kristy Hamze is averaging 11.1 points per game to join Hall in double figures in scoring for the Royals, and junior guard Taylor Stevens leads the conference in assists at 4.5 per contest.

In the post, 6-4 Kiana Barkhoff averages 6.4 points per game and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game (seventh in the SAC), and leads Division II in blocked shots per game at 3.82. The graduate transfer from Mercer has blocked at least two shots in every game this season except against the Pioneers on Dec. 1, when she was held without a block for the only time. Barkhoff has blocked five or more shots in four of the last five games, including nine at Newberry on Dec. 8, but she did not play either game last week after earning her first double-double with the Royals with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Newberry on Jan. 5.

Queens is ninth in the SAC in scoring offense at 62.2 points per game, and 12th in scoring defense at 73.1 points per game. The Royals are second in the conference and 14th nationally in blocked shots at 5.1 per game, but Queens is next-to-last in the conference in three-point percentage (25.8 percent) and last in rebound margin at minus-12.8 per game.

Tusculum's 74-41 win at Queens on Dec. 1 extended the Pioneers' winning streak over the Royals to eight straight games. The Pioneers have beaten the Royals three straight at home and are 8-1 all-time at home against Queens. The Royals will be making their first appearance at Pioneer Arena since Feb. 8, 2020 when the Pioneers came away with a 58-49 victory. Six of Tusculum's last seven wins over Queens have been by double digits.

TICKETS
Admission for 2021-22 Tusculum home basketball games is $10 for all entrants and children 12 and under will be admitted free. Tusculum students will be admitted free and valid Tusculum ID is required. Fans may also purchase tickets online in advance through HomeTown Ticketing at www.TusculumPioneers.com/information/tickets . Spectators using HomeTown Ticketing can choose to print tickets at home or use mobile entry tickets at the gate. All attendees are currently required to wear face masks while inside Pioneer Arena.

FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
Fans can watch the action of Tusculum women's basketball all season at TusculumPioneers.com on the Pioneer Sports Network and the SAC Digital Network. The radio call of the games will also be available locally on WSMG Radio on 95.5 FM and 1450 AM, as well as online at https://jewel955.com/listenlive.