Tusculum Women Advance To Finals With 69-54 Victory Over Newberry

HICKORY, N.C. --- Tusculum freshman Jasmine Gunn poured in 28 points, including 20 in the second half as the top-seeded Pioneers defeated No. 4 Newberry 69-54 in a semifinal game of the 2008 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament. The game was played Saturday at the Catawba Valley Community College Multipurpose Complex.

With the victory, Tusculum (26-3) advances to Sunday's championship game against the winner of tonight's Wingate/Carson-Newman contest.

Gunn (Nashville, Tenn.), the SAC Freshman of the Year, shot 10-for-20 from the floor, while also recording seven rebounds, seven assists and a game-high eight steals, which tied a tournament record, as the Pioneers won their 11th consecutive game.

All-SAC senior forward Tonique Frasier (Walterboro, S.C.) had a solid outing in her collegiate finale for Newberry as she posted a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Frasier shot 9-for-14 from the floor, while accounting for three assists and a team-high four steals.

With the score tied 15-15 midway through the first half, the Pioneers went on a 12-2 spurt capped off by a three-pointer from two-time All-SAC junior Ashli Oliver (Kokomo, Ind.) as TC led 27-17 with four minutes left before halftime.

But the Lady Indians, the two-time defending SAC Tournament Champions, closed out the period with an 11-2 spurt, thanks to a three-pointer by senior Ashley Marine (Peachtree City, Ga.) and a tip-in by junior Carnicha Bellinger (Greenville, S.C.) as Newberry trailed 29-28 at the intermission.

In the second half, Tusculum utilized a 9-0 spurt in the opening moments of the period, as Gunn converted a pair of three-point plays and junior Nikki Van Dine (Columbus, Ohio) tallied a three-pointer as TC led 43-33 with 14:49 left.

The Pioneers would take its largest lead of the afternoon at 57-39 at the midway point of the half, thanks to a 12-2 run, including another three-point play by Gunn and a three-pointer by Oliver.

Newberry (19-10) would answer though with eight straight points over the next four minutes, including back-to-back baskets by Frasier as the Lady Indians trailed 57-47 with 6:11 remaining in the game.

Tusculum would thwart the rally thanks to consecutive three-pointers by Gunn and Van Dine as TC moved out to a 65-49 lead en route to the victory.

Van Dine finished with a dozen points, all on four 3-pointers, while Oliver added 11 markers on her three treys. All-SAC sophomore forward Stephany Neptune (Wallkill, N.Y.) tallied two points and 11 rebounds in the win.

Newberry senior Ashlee Wright (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) accounted for 10 points while junior Laura Marquardt (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and freshman Leanne Watson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) each finished with six points each for the Lady Indians.

This will mark Tusculum's second trip to the SAC Tournament final in the last three years.

QUOTES

Tusculum head coach Missy Tiber

About her team's overall performance:
"I'm very proud of our defensive efforts today. Newberry is a great defensive team and I felt we got some clutch performances from our perimeter attack and of our Jasmine (Gunn)."

About Jasmine Gunn:
"Jasmine has been very special for us this year. She was solid at both ends of the court. Not only her 28 points, but she also came through with eight steals that resulted into some big buckets for us."

About playing for a SAC Tournament title.
"Since we lost to Wingate (in January), every game has been a must win for us. I'm so proud of how our team has answered winning our last 11 and tomorrow will once again be a huge game for us. I'm very proud of our team."

Newberry head coach Jason Brink:

About Tusculum:
"Tusculum is an amazing team. As hard as it is to lose to them, I'm excited for what is in store for them in the NCAA Tournament. I'll be pulling for them."

About Tusculum freshman Jasmine Gunn:
"Jasmine Gunn controlled this game from start to finish and we didn't have an answer for her. She is a phenomenal player."

About Newberry's 11-2 run to close out the first half:
"I thought the momentum shifted at halftime, but we couldn't carry it over into the second half."

At CVCC Multipurpose

TUSCULUM 69, NEWBERRY 54

NEWBERRY
Tonique Frasier 9-14 1-4 19; Ashlee Wright 4-9 2-2 10; Laura Marquardt 1-6 4-4 6; SEXTON, Latoya 2-7 2-4 6; Harris, Tacarra 1-5 2-4 4; Carnicha Bellinger 1-3 2-2 4; Marine, Ashley 1-1 0-0 3; Ward, Janine 0-2 2-4 2; Tygress Hope 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-48 15-24 54.

TUSCULUM
Martin, Chassity 10-20 7-9 28; Van Dine, Nikki 4-7 0-0 12; Oliver, Ashli 4-11 0-0 11; Shank, Shantae 3-5 0-0 6; Parker, Jasmine 2-4 1-2 5; Spears, Kat 1-2 2-2 4; Neptune, Stephany 1-5 0-0 2; Oliver, Brittni 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 25-55 11-17 69.

Newberry............ 28 26 - 54
Tusculum............ 29 40 - 69

3-point goals-Newberry 1-5 (Marine, Ashley 1-1; Laura Marquardt 0-1; Harris, Tacarra 0-1; Carnicha Bellinger 0-1; Tygress Hope 0-1), Tusculum 8-20 (Van Dine, Nikki 4-7; Oliver, Ashli 3-9; Martin, Chassity 1-2; Oliver, Brittni 0-1; Shank, Shantae 0-1). Fouled out--Newberry-Ward, Janine. Rebounds-Newberry 32 (Tonique Frasier 12), Tusculum 35(Neptune, Stephany 11). Assists-Newberry 10 (Tonique Frasier 3; Harris, Tacarra 3), Tusculum 11 (Martin, Chassity 7). Total fouls-Newberry 15, Tusculum 18. A-257