Eagles pull away from Wolves for 37-point home win
February 8, 2025

Eagles pull away from Wolves for 37-point home win

Leading by three points at halftime, Carson-Newman (17-6, 14-5 SAC) ran away from Newberry (5-18, 4-15 SAC) for an 88-51 victory on Saturday at Holt Fieldhouse.

VIDEO: Highlights

VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

VIDEO: Campbell Penland Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.  – Leading by three points at halftime, Carson-Newman (17-6, 14-5 SAC) ran away from Newberry (5-18, 4-15 SAC) for an 88-51 victory on Saturday at Holt Fieldhouse.

The Lady Eagles outscored Newberry 54 to 20 in the second half, shooting 59 percent from the field and holding the Wolves down to 29 percent shooting and 14 second-half turnovers.

"It just took us a while to get started," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "As bad as we played offensively, we still had a three-point lead at halftime. A key factor was obviously getting Lindsey (Taylor) going. Once she got going, the guards got going and we went on from there."

Carson-Newman's 37-point win at Holt Fieldhouse is its 16th consecutive win over the Wolves, with the wins coming over the last nine years. C-N has won 13 straight home affairs over Newberry.

Remarkably, 11 of Carson-Newman's 17 wins have been by 20 points or more this season. The 37-point win today is the second largest margin of victory this season.

The Lady Eagles have won five straight home games and are 10-1 at Holt Fieldhouse this season. In all 10 wins, C-N has scored at least 78 points.

Carson-Newman got a balanced attack offensively. Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) scored 15 of her game-high 17 points after halftime making seven of her 11 shots. Three others finished in double-figures as well. Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) went five of eight from long distance for 15 points. Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) made three triples for 12 points and Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) made five baskets for 10 points.

The Wolves got out to a fast start, making the game's first three shots to lead 7-0 in the first 80 seconds. C-N quickly dug itself out of the early hole, going on a 10-0 run to lead by three with four minutes to play in the period. Despite missing seven of their final eight shots in the first quarter, the Lady Eagles were tied with the Wolves after one quarter at 18.

Newberry scored two of the first three baskets in the second to lead by three early. But C-N would respond once again. C-N went on a 9-0 run over a two and a half minute stretch to lead by six points with 4:54 until halftime. C-N would make just one basket in the final 4:54 of the first half and led by just three at intermission.

Carson-Newman started the second half extremely well. Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) helped lead that charge, scoring the first seven points of the half. Penland and Sullivan got in on the scoring to help C-N the first 14 points after halftime to lead 48-31 with 5:23 left in the third.

"We've done that a number of times in my career," Mincey said. "We just didn't feel like we were going to play bad for all 40 minutes. Because our defense was so good, it gave us some breathing room to go and score and once we got a double-figure lead our kids played well."

C-N's offense stayed consistent throughout the period and its defense was just as good. It forced Newberry into eight third quarter turnovers and just four made baskets to lead by 21 after three quarters. Taylor scored 11 of C-N's 26 third quarter points.

Leading by 24 halfway through the fourth quarter, C-N would put the game well out of reach with an 11-0 scoring run. Taylor started it with a layup and then three other players scored to push the margin to 35 with 2:34 left. Caroline Hill scored the final five points of the contest for a 37-point home victory.

Thanks to a stellar shooting second half, C-N finished the game with 48 percent shooting. Newberry finished the game at 36 percent. Carson-Newman has won 16 of the 17 games it has outshot its opponent.

There was a big discrepancy in three-point shooting. Mincey's team made ten of its 24 triples while Newberry made just three in 17 attempts.

Makayla Alvey (Dandridge, Tenn.) finished with a game-high 11 rebounds and just one point shy of her third career double-double. Alvey had five of C-N's 20 offensive rebounds. The Lady Eagles have grabbed 11 offensive rebounds or more in eight straight contests.

Carson-Newman took full advantage of 23 Newberry mistakes. The Lady Eagles scored 28 points off those Wolves turnovers.

Newberry's Jess Tomkins scored a team-high 12 points, three below her season average.

SCORIGAMI! The 88-51 final score is 836th most unique score in program history.

Carson-Newman is back in action on Wednesday evening at Tusculum. Tipoff between the Lady Eagles and Pioneers is set for 5:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 5:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.

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