DAHLONEGA, Ga. --- Caroline Martin scored 28 points, including the go-ahead basket with 4:45 remaining, as nationally-ranked University of North Georgia came from behind to defeat Tusculum University 70-65 in non-conference women's basketball action Tuesday evening.

The Nighthawks (2-0), ranked fourth in the D2SIDA national poll, 18th in the WBCA Division II poll and first in the D2SIDA Southeast Region rankings, trailed by 12 points in the first half but went on a 16-2 run to take the lead late in the first half. The Pioneers (2-1) would regain the lead early in the fourth quarter, but Tusculum shot just 29.2 percent (7-for-24) from three-point range and missed on seven of their eight attempts in the final period.

Jami Tham, who battled foul trouble throughout the game, led the Pioneers with 18 points and 12 rebounds for her third straight double-double to open the season. Deidre Cheremond added 15 points in 13 minutes off the bench, while Sophie Henry scored a career-high 11 points and matched her career best with eight assists before fouling out in the final minute. Alyssa Walker also reached double figures for the Pioneers with 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers.

Tusculum was whistled for 24 fouls in the game as North Georgia went 14-for-22 from the foul line as a team, while the Pioneers were just 4-for-5 at the stripe as the Nighthawks were called for eight fouls in the contest. Both teams finished with 36 rebounds, while North Georgia had 13 turnovers as a team to 10 for Tusculum, which was ranked ninth in the first D2SIDA Southeast Region poll of the season this week.

Josie Earnhardt joined Martin in double figures for North Georgia, hitting four three-pointers and finishing with 16 points, while Kaylee Sticker scored 11 points. Kayla Masson added seven points, a team-high eight rebounds and two blocked shots for North Georgia, which avenged a 54-38 loss to Tusculum last season on the road when the Nighthawks were ranked in the top 10 in both major Division II polls.

Martin, a preseason All-Peach Belt Conference guard who averaged 14.9 points per game for the Nighthawks during their run to the NCAA Division II semifinals last season, shot 9-for-19 from the field and 9-for-13 from the foul line while adding seven rebounds and three blocked shots in 40 minutes of playing time. The Nighthawks had opened their season on Saturday with a 68-67 road win over Lees-McRae behind 17 points and eight boards from Martin.

The Pioneers raced to a 7-0 lead as the Nighthawks missed their first four shots from the field before Niyah Lutz made a layup with 7:12 left in the first quarter. Henry would score eight points in the first 4 1/2 minutes for the Pioneers, while a Cheremond layup gave Tusculum a 16-4 lead with 4:49 left in the period. Cheremond would make all three of her shot attempts in the opening period as the Pioneers shot 60 percent (9-for-15) to take a 23-14 lead after one quarter.

North Georgia would score the first seven points of the second quarter, cutting the Tusculum lead to 23-21 on a putback by Carly Fahey with 7:53 remaining in the half. Belton would snap the run with a jumper in the lane, but baskets by Martin and Sticker would tie the score at 25-25 with 6:44 left in the half. Both teams would go scoreless for just over three minutes until Earnhardt banked in a three-pointer with 3:40 remaining to give the Nighthawks their first lead at 28-25. North Georgia would go up by as many as six points before Tusculum cut the deficit to 38-34 at half.

Henry, Tham and Cheremond shared the team lead in scoring for the Pioneers with eight points apiece in the first half, with Tham grabbing a game-high six rebounds. Tusculum hit 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from the field and drilled four three-pointers in the opening half. Martin led all players with 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field in the opening half, while Earnhardt was 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and had nine points for the Nighthawks, who shot 45.2 percent (14-for-31) from the field but had 11 second-chance points to zero for Tusculum.

Three straight baskets by Tham to start the second half brought the Pioneers to within 41-40 with 8:07 left in the third quarter. A Henry three-pointer would put the Pioneers up 43-41 with 6:53 to go in the quarter, and a three-pointer followed by a layup by Walker would put Tusculum ahead 50-47 with 2:40 remaining in the third. The Nighthawks would run off six straight points to go up 53-50 in the final minute of the quarter, but a three-point play by Cheremond with 4.8 seconds left knotted the score at 53-53 heading to the fourth.

After an exchange of baskets by Cheremond and Sticker, Shultz drilled a three-pointer with 9:07 left to put Tusculum ahead 58-55. However, the Pioneers would go scoreless for the next five minutes as a layup by Martin gave North Georgia a 59-58 lead with 4:45 to go, followed by a three-pointer from Earnhardt with 4:19 left for a 62-58 Nighthawks lead.

A free throw by Shultz with 3:48 left would end the Pioneer drought, and a Tham layup pulled Tusculum within 63-61 with 3:16 on the clock. The Nighthawks then rattled off five foul shots over the next 90 seconds to go ahead 68-61 with 1:51 remaining. Tusculum would pull within 69-65 on a jumper by Cheremond with 22.3 seconds left, but a foul shot by Martin with 22.1 seconds to go would set the final score as Tusculum shot just 5-for-17 in the final period.

Blayre Shultz just missed double figures for the Pioneers as she finished with nine points, but she had a career-high seven assists against just one turnover while playing all 40 minutes. Tham shot 8-for-13 from the field for Tusculum while Cheremond was 7-for-12 from the floor in reaching a season high in scoring with 15.

North Georgia finished the game 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) from three-point range and 43.9 percent (25-for-57) from the field as a team. Tusculum shot 41.5 percent (27-for-65) overall from the field and had 21 assists on their 27 field goals. Defensively, Henry, Mya Belton and Lexi Patty each had a pair of steals for the Pioneers.

After three road games in a span of five days, the Pioneers will prepare for their home opener against Regent University on Friday, Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. at Pioneer Arena. The Royals, a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association, are 0-2 following season-opening losses to Division III opponents Hollins (59-54) and Virginia Wesleyan (55-35).