GREENWOOD, S.C. -- Jasmine Gunn poured in a South Atlantic Conference-record 45 points and set a trio of NCAA Division II marks to lead the Tusculum women's basketball team to a 103-96 win over No. 20 Francis Marion in the semifinal round of the Southeast Region Tournament on Saturday.
The win propels the Pioneers into tonight's Southeast Region championship for the first time in school history. It is Tusculum's third victory over a ranked opponent in the last week.
The Pioneers also blocked a season-high eight shots, including a game-high five rejections by Catherine Hintz.
Tusculum (22-9) shot a blistering 55.4 percent from the field, including a 62.5 percent clip in the second half. The difference came at the free throw line, where the Pioneers converted 38-of-52 attempts (73.1 percent), while setting an NCAA Tournament record for chances at the charity stripe.
Gunn led all scorers with 45 points in 31 minutes, connecting on 11-of-15 attempts from the floor and converting a school, conference and NCAA Division II Tournament-record 23 chances at the free throw line, while setting an NCAA Division II single-game mark with 29 free throw attempts.
The Daktronics Southeast Region Player of the Year finished the night two points shy of the program-record of 47 points.
Hintz and Jasmine Parker joined Gunn with at least 20 points. Hintz recorded a double-double with 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Parker poured in a season-best 20 markers.
Senior Kat Spears also pulled down 10 rebounds. Freshman Kendal Baxter also scored in double figures for Tusculum, connecting on three shots from behind the arc.
Nicole Mealing and Shannon Singleton-Bates each poured in 20 or more points for the Patriots (27-5), recording 29 and 21 markers, respectively.
The game started off fairly even with neither team leading by more than four points until, with Francis Marion trailing 10-8, the Patriots launched a 9-0 run to take a 17-10 lead on a layup by Mealing with 13:41 to go in the half. Francis Marion would stretch the lead before the Pioneers launched a 16-5 run, reclaiming the advantage at 31-29 on a three-point play by Gunn with 7:07 to play in the period and they took a 49-44 lead into the intermission.
Tusculum continued to press the advantage in the second half, opening its largest lead of the game at 89-74 on a layup by Hintz with 5:05 to play. Francis Marion battled back, cutting the lead to 98-92 before the Pioneers closed out the 103-96 win with some clutch free throw shooting.
The Pioneers play top-seeded Lander tonight in the championship game of the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Tournament at 7 p.m.
TUSCULUM (22-9): Gunn 11-15 23-29 45; Hintz 9-16 3-6 21; Parker 5-13 10-12 20; Baxter 3-6 1-2 10; Hicks 2-2 1-3 5; Spears 1-3 0-0 2; McGowen 0-0 0-0 0; Shephard 0-0 0-0 0; Oliver,Brittni 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-56 38-52 103.
FRANCIS MARION (27-5): Mealing 10-18 5-6 29; Singleton-Bates 8-15 5-6 21; Fields 4-9 2-2 13; Tucker 5-16 1-3 11; Franks 3-10 3-5 9; Colbert 1-4 3-5 5; Mann 2-3 0-0 5; Downs 1-3 1-2 3; Trice 0-3 0-2 0; Mealing 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-83 20-31 96.
Halftime: Tusculum 49, Francis Marion 44 3-point goals--Tusculum 3-6 (Baxter 3-6), Francis Marion 8-18 (Mealing 4-7; Fields 3-6; Mann 1-1; Franks 0-1; Mealing 0-2; Singleton-Bates 0-1). Rebounds--Tusculum 43 (Hintz 12), Francis Marion 42 (Colbert 11). Assists--Tusculum 12 (Gunn 6), Francis Marion 27 (Mealing 7; Colbert 7). Total fouls--Tusculum 21, Francis Marion 34.
