November 16, 2012

Burstrom and Brown power Lady Eagles to 78-66 Win

DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (2-1) women’s basketball team earned its second straight victory with a 78-66 win over the North Georgia Lady Saints (0-1) in the 2012 Lady Saints Tip-Off Classic at Memorial Hall Gymnasium on Friday evening. For the second straight contest, junior Shyra Brown (Cleveland, Tenn.) collected a double-double while freshman Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) led Carson-Newman with a season-high 23 points in the first road win of the year for the Lady Eagles.

DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (2-1) women's basketball team earned its second straight victory with a 78-66 win over the North Georgia Lady Saints (0-1) in the 2012 Lady Saints Tip-Off Classic at Memorial Hall Gymnasium on Friday evening.

For the second straight contest, junior Shyra Brown (Cleveland, Tenn.) collected a double-double while freshman Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) led Carson-Newman with a season-high 23 points in the first road win of the year for the Lady Eagles.

"I just thought overall it was a really good team effort by our kids," said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. "I told them before the game it's really gratifying to get on the road, we've been on the bus all day, up a mountain and down a mountain, and I told them before the game that we were not going to use that as an excuse. I thought they came out with a lot of energy, lot of fire – certainly hitting seven of 15 three's was key for us but we had a lot of good effort out of a lot of different people."

Burstrom was once again strong shooting from behind the arc, shooting 5-of-7 from three along with an 8-of-11 performance from the field collecting a season-high 23 points. Brown's second straight double-double was earned by grabbing 11 rebounds to go along with her 13 points.

Carson-Newman never trailed in the contest, opening the game on an 8-2 run. The Lady Eagles shot 47 percent from three in the first half and at halftime led North Georgia 38-26. The Lady Saints would come back in the second half and cut Carson-Newman's advantage to 50-46 with 13:04 left to play. The Lady Eagles scored the next four points thanks to jumpers from Lashawnda Peacher and Burstrom, giving Carson-Newman an eight point edge.

Carson-Newman's next run came after the Lady Saints cut the lead to 57-50 with 8:52 to go. The Lady Eagles would outscore the Lady Saints 13-3 to lead 70-53 with 3:53 left. After North Georgia cut the score to 72-61, Burstrom connected on her final three-pointer of the night from the top of the key to give the Lady Eagles a 14 point lead with 1:38 left to play, putting away thoughts of a Lady Saints comeback.

North Georgia was led in scoring by the 2011-12 NCAA Division II Player of the Year Jaymee Carnes, who scored 27 points yet missed key minutes in the second half with foul trouble.

While Burstrom and Brown were the only scorers in double-figures, the Lady Eagles saw Peacher, Courdne Miles (Burlington, N.C.), Chante' Markus (Hummelstown, Pa.), Lacy Miller (Dandridge, Tenn.), Whitney Moody (Blountville, Tenn.), and Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) all score at least six points in the victory.

Carson-Newman will next play Saturday afternoon against Georgia College in Dahlonega at 2 p.m. at Memorial Hall Gymnasium. Coverage on the Coca-Cola Eagle Sports Network begins with the Farm Bureau Countdown to Tipoff at 1:45 p.m. and the broadcast is also available on www.cneagles.com.