GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Trojans closed the regular season with a 69-62 win over Tusculum University (2-26 2-20 SAC) on Saturday afternoon to clinch the No. 8 seed in the South Atlantic Conference Championships. Anderson moves to 12-16 overall and 8-14 in the SAC with the win.
"Really excited for the team to have earned a spot in the conference tournament," head coach Jonathon Barbaree said. "It's time to take what we've learned throughout the year both good and bad put it together and play our best!"
Anderson battled in the first half through a 20-20 first quarter and a 13-10 second quarter. They went down by seven with two minutes to play in the first quarter and closed on a 7-0 run. The Pioneers earned an early lead in the second quarter and the Trojans had to battled through three ties before earning a three point lead going into halftime.
The Trojans went on a quick 14-3 run coming out of the locker room to get a big lead in the third quarter. They were up 56-44 at the end of the third. The Pioneers won the fourth 18-13 but it wasn't enough to make up the gap.
Anderson shot 40.6 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from deep. They had 20 points off of turnovers and won the boards 37-35.
Sophomore
Jaida Brooks (Phoenix, Ariz.) dropped 15 points with three triples to pace the offense and tied her career-high of seven assists.
Junior
Kyla Cain (Atlanta, Ga.) came up with 12 points and five rebounds with four steals.
Senior
Ashlyn Sheridan (Knoxville, Tenn.) drained three triples for nine points, three blocks and two steals.
Graduate student
Ciara Harris (Alexandria, Va.) also dropped nine points with a team-high eight rebounds.
Sophomore
Rose Gravel (Ocala, Fla.) came off the bench for seven points and five rebounds.
Freshman
Ashley Hill (Covington, Ga.) came up with six points and five rebounds.
The Trojans will take on No. 1 Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday, March 4 at 12 p.m. in Rock Hill, S.C. All tournament information can be found on the South Atlantic Conference website
here.
