November 20, 2012

James leads Lady Eagles past Columbus State 62-61

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (4-1) women’s basketball team improved their winning streak to four consecutive victories with a 62-61 triumph over the Columbus State Lady Cougars (1-1) at Holt Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening. Carson-Newman was led in scoring by senior Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) with her 22 points, and she scored what proved to be the winning layup with 18 seconds left in the game to deliver the Lady Eagles a 62-61 lead, which would be the final score.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (4-1) women's basketball team improved their winning streak to four consecutive victories with a 62-61 triumph over the Columbus State Lady Cougars (1-1) at Holt Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening.

Carson-Newman was led in scoring by senior Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) with her 22 points, and she scored what proved to be the winning layup with 18 seconds left in the game to deliver the Lady Eagles a 62-61 lead, which would be the final score.

"Nikki just plays so hard," said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. "Certainly anytime she can finish at the basket she's usually pretty good at getting those layups. Her free throws have come along and then the six boards with five of those rebounds offensive, getting those put-backs are something that can certainly help our team."

The back-and-forth contest saw the lead change nine times while the teams were tied at four different points during the game. Columbus State jumped out to a 22-9 lead in the first 11 minutes of the game, before Carson-Newman would go on a 13-2 run to pull back within two. The Lady Cougars led 32-31 at halftime, despite an 11 point first half performance from Carson-Newman freshman Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) who connected on a trio of three-pointers in the first period.

Carson-Newman began the second period on a 9-4 run, and would lead for most of the remainder of the game. James scored 16 of her 22 points in the second half, and she finished the night going 4-6 at the free throw line, despite entering the game with a free throw percentage of 53 percent.

Columbus State took a 61-60 lead with 44 seconds to play thanks to a pair of free throws by Tae Smith. Carson-Newman answered with James' layup that came off of a Burstrom assist, and the Lady Eagles played stout defense for the remaining 18 seconds to pick up their third straight win over a Peach Belt Conference opponent.

James (22) and Burstrom (16) were the only Lady Eagles in double-digit scoring, and Carson-Newman shot 46 percent from the field as a team, including a 5-of-13 mark from beyond the arc. Columbus State was led in scoring by Smith's 16 points, as well as 15 points for Asha Alexander.

Carson-Newman will next play in eight days on Wednesday Nov. 28 against Brevard at Holt Fieldhouse. Coverage of next Wednesday's conference opener is available on the Coca-Cola Eagle Sports Network, beginning with the Farm Bureau Countdown to Tipoff at 5:45 p.m. and the broadcast is also available on www.cneagles.com.