Lady Eagles fall to Newberry in overtime, 73-70
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman women's basketball team battled back from a 12-point deficit with five minutes to go, but couldn't hang on in overtime. The Lady Wolves from Newberry College squeaked out a 73-70 win over the Lady Eagles in the extra period on Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman women's basketball team battled back from a 12-point deficit with five minutes to go, but couldn't hang on in overtime. The Lady Wolves from Newberry College squeaked out a 73-70 win over the Lady Eagles in the extra period on Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.
The loss drops Carson-Newman's record to 5-10 on the season and 1-4 in the South Atlantic Conference. Newberry remains in the upper half of the SAC standings at 9-5 overall with a 4-2 conference mark.
C-N shot out to a 4-point lead to open the game, but Newberry took over, going on a 13-2 run over the next six minutes. The Lady Eagles were able to stem the tide thanks to a jumper from senior guard Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.). Two straight layups from sophomore forward Courdne Miles (Burlington, N.C.) gave the Lady Eagles back the lead at 18-16. Miles finished the game with eight points, four rebounds, four blocks and a steal. Mendenhall scored 14 points and added five assists.
The Lady Wolves traded back the lead for the rest of the half before pulling ahead by seven as time ticked down in the half. A layup from junior forward Zoriah Williams (Calera, Ala.) chipped the lead to five at the buzzer. Williams had a double-double in the game, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Carson-Newman held Newberry to just 29 percent shooting from the floor in the second half, but had trouble cutting into the Lady Wolves' lead thanks to repeated missed 3-pointers. The Lady Eagles hit only three shots from beyond the arc all night out of 14 tries.
Carson-Newman pulled within one point with a little over nine minutes to go on a 3-pointer from Candis Clear . Once again, the Lady Wolves were able to stretch the lead again with an 11-2 run capped by a breakaway layup from Leanne Watson with just five minutes to go.
Instead of wilting, the Lady Eagles came back strong, going on a run of their own that tied the game 62-62 after two free throws from senior guard Katilin Moore (Fort Mill, S.C.) with 1:30 to go. Both defenses clamped down and sent the game to ovetime.
In the extra period, Newberry put the pressure on early with a 3-pointer from Jessica Bearzatto. Freshman forward Shannon Depew (Newport, Tenn.) hit two free throws to pull the Lady Eagles back within one. Depew finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds.
With 40 seconds to go, the game was tied 70-70. Watson hit one of two foul shots to give the Lady Wolves the lead. Mendenhall missed a jumper with five seconds to go. Two more foul shots from Newberry's Leeara Creet pushed the lead to three and ended the game.
