GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles basketball team (7-3, 1-2 South Atlantic Conference) saw a second-half surge from the Tusculum Pioneers (8-3, 2-1 South Atlantic Conference) that gave the Pioneers a 55-51 victory at Pioneer Arena on Wednesday night.

Carson-Newman led at halftime by 12 points, yet the Lady Eagles were outscored 34-18 in the second half by the Pioneers. Carson-Newman junior Shyra Clark (Cleveland, Tenn.) posted a career-high 17 points in the four-point loss.

"There wasn't a whole lot of positives from us in the second half," said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. "We only scored 18 in the second half when we were up 12 and you have a chance to win on the road, just a really poor effort overall."

The Lady Eagles held the Pioneers to 25 percent shooting from the field in the first half, and led at halftime 33-21. Carson-Newman finished the first half on a 6-0 run to take a 12-point lead into the half.

Tusculum got the second half off to a quick start, going on a 15-3 run to tie the game at 36 with 12:44 left in the game. The Lady Eagles answered with a run of their own, a 9-0 run thanks to baskets by Clark, Whitney Moody, and a three-pointer from Lacy Miller that gave Carson-Newman a 45-36 lead with 10:17 to go. The game of runs continued as Tusculum would then go on an 11-0 run to take the lead. A long three-pointer from Tusculum's Kendal Baxter put the Pioneers up for the first time since the first half as her trey put the score at 47-45 with 7:29 left.

The game remained tight throughout the final seven minutes. The Lady Eagles cut the lead to one with just over three minutes left to go, and trailed by only two with 1:40 to play. Missed free throws by the Pioneers allowed Carson-Newman to stay in the game, however Tusculum would pull away by a pair of made free throws by Breaira Barksdale and Baxter with 11 seconds to play, giving Tusculum a 55-51 lead which would be the final score.

Carson-Newman committed a season-high 26 turnovers in the loss, with six of the turnovers on Clark. Tusculum was led in scoring with three players in double figures: Baxter (14), Barksdale (12), and Burleson (10).

Carson-Newman will next play on Saturday at home against Newberry at 2 p.m. inside Holt Fieldhouse. Coverage of the game is available on the Coca-Cola Eagle Sports Network, beginning with the Farm Bureau Countdown to Tipoff at 1:45 p.m. and the broadcast is also available on www.cneagles.com.