GREENEVILLE, Tenn. -- Junior forward Megan Pittman (Liberty, Ky.) had her 10th double double of the year as she scored 13 of her 22 points in the second half to spark the Lady Railsplitters (14-8, 11-6 SAC) to a come-from-behind 70-61 victory over Tusculum (10-10, 8-9 SAC) Wednesday evening at Pioneer Arena.

Pittman had 22 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Lady Railsplitters. Jasmine Kelly (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Rachel Griffith (Oliver Springs, Tenn.) each had eight points while Josey Harding (Middletown Ohio) added in nine rebounds.

LMU shot 37.3% (25-67) from the field for the game and 69.0% (20-29) from the charity stripe. They went 0-8 from behind the three-point arc. LMU outrebounded the Pioneers by a 48-30 margin.

Pittman came out with the hot hand early in the contest, scoring seven of LMU's first nine points. Tusculum then went on a 9-2 run before a basket by Pittman and a free throw by Kortnay Cox (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) cut the lead to 18-14. The Pioneers would hit two free throws late in the quarter to take a 20-14 lead.

In the second quarter, Tusculum extended the lead to 12 points before a Guy jumper cut it to 26-16. After the teams traded baskets, a Pioneer free throw and a made basket by Shynese Whitener put TC ahead 33-20 with 1:26 left. Down the stretch, three free throws by Griffith and a jumper by Karsen Sims (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) trimmed the TC lead to 33-25 at the half.

In the third quarter the Pioneers maintained an eight point advantage until mid-way through the period when the Lady Railsplitters started to methodically chip away at the lead. They cut the lead to 39-36 after Harding hit a free throw with 2:54 left. Tusculum put the lead back up to six with 1:48 left before a basket by Kelly and a free throw and basket from Pittman cut the lead to 43-42 with 1:23 remaining. Follwing a Pioneer miss, Kiara Rawls (Killeen, Texas) was fouled with 32 seconds left in the frame and hit both to give LMU their first lead since early in the game. After Whitener gave Tusculum the lead back with a pair of free throws, Kelly tried a buzzer-beater that was grabbed by Griffith who was then fouled with 0.2 seconds left. She hit both to put the Lady Railsplitters ahead 46-45 after three quarters.

The Pioneers would cut the lead to three points on three different occasions early in the fourth quarter before a Kelly layup sparked an 8-0 run to give the Lady Railsplitters the 60-49 lead. The closest that Tusculum would come for the remainder of the game was six points as LMU went 3-1 at the line down the stretch to seal the 70-61 win.

Tusculum's Whitener led all scorers with 23 points. Sydney Wilson had 11 points and Maelyn Head added in 10 points. The Pioneers went 41.1% (23-56) from the field, 16.7% (2-12) from three-point range and 13-17 (76.5%) from the charity stripe.

Quick Hits
The eight points by Griffith mark a new career high for the freshman.... The last time the Lady Railsplitters went without a three-pointer in a game was against Coker on Dec. 5.... It was LMU's first season sweep over the Pioneers since the 2004 season and the first since the Lady Railsplitters joined the SAC in the 2006-07 season.... LMU improves to 40-28 all-time vs. Tusculum.... Points in the paint - LMU 34, Tusculum 30... Points off turnovers - LMU 17, TC 16.... Second chance points - LMU 20, TC 10 and bench points - LMU 29, TC 11.

Up Next
The Lady Railsplitters return home to host Newberry Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Tex Turner Arena. The game will be the annual Play-4-Kay game, which is used as a fundraiser for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Newberry comes into the game with a 12-11 overall record and a 11-6 SAC record. The Wolves have lost two in a row coming into Saturday's game.