GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Playing the role of underdog for the second time in two weeks, the eighth-seeded Anderson women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 62-61 decision to top-seeded Tusculum in South Atlantic Conference Tournament quarterfinal action Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.

The Pioneers (19-8), the top seed in the tournament and defending champions, advance to play Newberry in the semifinals on Saturday at noon at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C. The fourth-seeded Wolves defeated fifth-seeded Mars Hill 80-64 in a quarterfinal game Wednesday evening.

Anderson pulled off a 67-65 upset of the league-leading Lady Pioneers two weeks ago, but was unable to duplicate the feat Wednesday night, with the Trojans ending their season at 11-16.

The game featured 10 ties and eight lead changes, with the Pioneers taking the lead for good at 50-48 on a layup by Hintz with 6:38 remaining. Tusculum led 60-51 with 1:43 left, but Anderson trimmed the deficit to two at 60-58 on a three-pointer by Alissa Diaz with 23.2 seconds left.

After a pair of missed free throws by the Pioneers, the Trojans went for the win but misfired on a three-point attempt with 13 seconds left. Brittni Oliver sank two foul shots with 10.2 seconds left to give the Pioneers a 62-58 lead, but Diaz responded with a 3-pointer to pull the Trojans within 62-61 with 1.9 seconds left. Tusculum quickly inbounded the ball and time ran out before Anderson could commit a foul.

The Pioneers sprinted out to a 17-6 lead after eight minutes of play, but the Trojans reeled off 13 straight points to take their first lead of the night at 19-17 on a three-pointer by Alexa Neal with 8:38 left in the first half.

Back-to-back layups by Hintz in the final minute of the first half sent the Pioneers to the locker room with a 29-25 advantage. Hintz led all players with 14 points and six rebounds in the first half, while Neal paced the Trojans with eight points, four rebounds and four assists in the opening half.

Neither team led by more than four points in the second half until the Pioneers pulled out to their nine-point lead in the final two minutes. The Pioneers shot 7-for-13 from the foul line in the second half and 10-for-18 for the game, while the Trojans finished 4-for-5 at the stripe, all in the second half.

Anderson shot 45.6 percent (26-for-57) from the field while the Pioneers finished at 41.3 percent on 26-for-63 shooting. The Trojans shot 5-for-15 from three-point range and held the Pioneers without a three-pointer on eight attempts.

Breonda Shannon led the Trojans with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Diaz added 12 points.

Tusculum's Jasmine Parker scored a season-high 20 points and Catherine Hintz led all players with 25 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots.