ANDERSON, S.C. - Tusculum senior forward Staci Hicks connected on one-of-two free throws with 1.1 seconds on the clock to lift visiting Tusculum to a 72-71 win past Anderson in South Atlantic Conference women's basketball Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
Anderson's Alissa Diaz's desperation heave from beyond midcourt at the buzzer rattled around the rim but failed to drop through, as Anderson slipped to 6-9 overall and 3-4 in the league. Tusculum, the defending SAC regular-season and tournament champion, improved to 11-4 and 5-3 in conference play.
Trailing, 61-51, midway through the second half, the Trojans rallied with an 11-1 run over a six-minute span to knot the score for the seventh time on the night. Junior forward Tilde Ahlin sparked the comeback with two of her 16 points on the night, while guard Alissa Diaz knocked down her second 3-pointer with 8:20 left and Breonda Shannon closed the run with a short jumper.
Tusculum snapped the 62-62 tie with a 7-1 run to claim a six-point edge with 1:02 left, but AU refused to go away quietly, as junior guard Amanda Parris buried back-to-back 3-pointers in a 15-second span inside the final minute to tie the score at 69 apiece with just 26 seconds on the clock.
The Trojans sent Tusculum guard April McCann to the free throw line, and the junior who was hitting 45.5 percent on the season from the line, connected on both attempts to give the Pioneers a brief 71-69 lead with 20.9 seconds left. Diaz drew a foul on the other end and calmly sank both free throws to knot the score for the ninth and final time of the night.
Tusculum junior Kendal Baxter misfired on a long 3-point attempt with four seconds on the clock, but Hicks corralled the rebound in traffic and drew the foul, setting up the final frantic seconds.
Diaz finished with a career-high 22 points and handed out three assists, while Tilde Ahlin equaled her career-high with 16 points. Shannon recorded a team-high seven rebounds on the night.
Hicks led the Pioneers effort with 15 points, with McCann chipping in 13 points and Linda Aughburns notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.
The Trojans close the first half of the South Atlantic Conference double round robin schedule with a two-game SAC road swing, beginning Saturday afternoon at Carson-Newman. Tip-off versus the Eagles is slated for 2 p.m.
