ANGOLA, Ind. – Coach Kissy Walker had high hopes for her Husson College team in the first round of NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Championships.

The Braves won their final six games of the regular season. They had plenty of balance offensively, lots of size and plenty of expectations.

It took three minutes for everything to evaporate.

Husson fell behind 10-0 and the Tusculum (Tenn.) College Pioneers rolled to a 77-49 victory Thursday morning on the campus of Tri-State University.

“I was disappointed in the way we played in the first half,” Walker said. “We had 14 missed blockouts and my players know that that is something that upsets me very much. That’s just a fundamental that is supposed to be automatic. And we also had 14 turnovers.”

The Braves committed four turnovers and missed four shots before Becky Moholland scored on a reverse layup to make it 10-2 with 16:53 to play in the half. Tusculum went up 18-4 before Husson gained its composure.

Husson’s Beth Miller came off the bench and had a rebound basket, a steal and hit a jumper. She finished with 12 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes. Moholland also started hitting her shots and ended up with 12, also. Point guard Sue Ann Allen, who had two fouls in the first 1:30, sat on the bench for five minutes before playing a role in a second-half comeback.

“In the first few minutes, we really put a damper on everything,” Allen said. “They came out and were hitting their shots and we obviously weren’t. Then we started making better choices on shot selection.

Husson cut the margin to 42-30 at halftime. After making it 53-42 with 12:23 remaining, the Braves got a chance to cut it to single digets. But they turned the ball over, helping secure the Tusculum victory. Husson didn’t score on any of its next 12 possessions and fell behind 70-42 with 6:35 to go.

Amanda Pomerleau, Husson’s top 3-point shooter, finished with only four points and was 0-for-1 from behind the arc. She never got a chance to get hot.

“In scouting Husson, we felt like No. 33 [Pomerleau] was their only 3-point threat,” Tusculum College coach Merry Beth Curtis said. “We decided that whoever was guarding her would have a hand in her face and make sure she didn’t get a good shot off.”

Husson finishes its season at 21-8. It exits the tournament in the first round for the second-straight season and it will lose 1,000-point scorers Moholland and Tara Leavitt. But prospects for next season remain bright.

“We came out four years ago and made it to the Fabulous Four and we had a very small, very quick team,” Walker said. “Quickness, when you get to this level is crucial. When I recruit, I try to get a little bit of size and a little quickness. This year we had a big team but we are a little quicker than last season. We should have even more quickness next year.”

Pioneers 77, Braves 49

Husson (21-8) Tusculum (30-4)

Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF TP

Moholland 5 13 2 4 12 Ren’r-Wykle 4 6 2 2 10

Grant 0 3 0 0 0 Taylor 9 16 1 1 19

Leavitt 1 4 1 2 3 Starnes 7 19 3 4 20

Allen 5 16 0 0 10 Coffey 4 8 1 2 10

Pomerleau 2 6 0 0 4 Bible 3 11 1 2 7

Cram 0 1 1 2 1 Richardson 0 1 0 0 0

Lumbert 0 1 1 2 1 Morgan 0 3 1 2 1

Russ 0 0 0 0 0 Hill 0 2 0 0 0

Palmer 0 2 0 0 0 Connatser 4 8 0 1 8

Walker 2 8 0 1 4 Nichols 0 0 0 0 0

Emerson 0 2 2 2 2 Wolfenb’ger 0 0 0 0 0

Miller 5 10 2 4 12 Butts 1 1 0 0 2

Totals 20 66 9 17 49 Totals 32 75 9 14 77

Husson 30 49

Tusculum 42 77

3-pt. goals: Husson (0-5): Pomerleau 0-1, Cram 0-1, Emerson 0-2, Miller 0-1; Tusculum (4-9): Starnes 3-3, Coffey 1-2, Bible 0-2, Morgan 0-1, Hill 0-1