Lady Eagles overcome shooting woes to defeat Lander in season opener
November 15, 2025

Lady Eagles overcome shooting woes to defeat Lander in season opener

Despite shooting just 32 percent from the field, Carson-Newman (1-0) was able to win its fourth straight season opener by holding off Lander (0-1) 72-59 on Saturday night at Shuford Arena.

VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

VIDEO: Caroline Hill Interview

HICKORY, N.C. – Despite shooting just 32 percent from the field, Carson-Newman (1-0) was able to win its fourth straight season opener by holding off Lander (0-1) 72-59 on Saturday night at Shuford Arena.

"I thought we went on a good run early," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "Then, there was a lid on the basket. I thought we had a lot of really good looks and a lot of open three-point shots. I think we have capable three-point shooters that are shooting it. When Lander cut it to one, we went on a good run to carry a 13-point lead into halftime. I thought we had several chances to extend our lead and it was just kind of sloppy. It was either missed shots or turnovers. Nonetheless, glad to come away with the win."

Carson-Newman won its 25th straight game when scoring 70 points or more, but it wasn't pretty getting to that magic number.

The Lady Eagles posted a 32.4% shooting mark, their lowest mark in a win since shooting 31% in a 54-51 win at Anderson on January 21, 2016. C-N finished Saturday's game 24-74 from the field and 8-32 from three-point range and never shot above 35% in a quarter.

A win in the season opener extends Carson-Newman's winning streak in season lifters to four and improves the program's record to 19-2 in the SAC/Peach Belt Challenge over the past 12 seasons. C-N is now 36-12 in season openers and has won 12 of its past 13.

The first three minutes saw the lead change hands six times. Carson-Newman would create some first quarter separation thanks to an 8-0 scoring run that spanned more than three minutes and gave C-N a double-digit lead. Lander scored six of the final ten points to trim the C-N lead to eight after the first quarter.

After starting the game seven for 13 from the field, the Lady Eagles went ice cold from the field spanning the final minutes of the first and first few minutes of the second quarter. C-N missed 18 of its next 19 shots and went scoreless for nearly six minutes of game action. With Lander within a point, Cybil Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) would break the cold shooting with back to back baskets at the halfway point of the period. That sparked a 13-3 run to end the first half with Mattie Nuckolls (Chatsworth, Ga.) scoring the final five points to push C-N's lead to 13 at intermission.

Caroline Hill (Kingsport, Tenn.) scored a driving layup on the first possession of the third quarter to quickly push the lead out to 15. Lander's defense fueled an extended 10-3 run to bring the deficit down to eight with 4:56 to play in the third. C-N committed more turnovers in the first five minutes of the third quarter than it did the entire first half. A three-pointer by Lander's Quadaija Langley made it a five-point game, but the Bearcats would get no closer. C-N scored eight of the final 13 points in the third to take a nine-point lead into the final period.

Once again, the Lady Eagles started a quarter well. Keeleigh Rogers (Knoxville, Tenn.) capped off a 10-0 scoring run over the first three minutes of the fourth to push the advantage to 17. The Bearcats would get within 10 on multiple occasions, but got no closer. C-N made its free throws down the stretch to seal another win in a season opener.

Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) led the Lady Eagles with a game-high 18 points. The senior guard dished out five assists and grabbed six rebounds.

Caroline Hill scored a career-high 16 points in her first career start. She scored her 16 on an efficient six of 13 shooting ad also snared down six rebounds.

Mattie Nuckolls came up a point shy of matching her career-high, scoring 14 points and leading C-N with four blocks.

Keeleigh Rogers narrowly missed her third career double-double, scoring eight points and grabbing a team-high nine boards.

Carson-Newman recorded a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, dishing out 14 assists with 13 turnovers.

Part of the reason C-N overcame those shooting woes because of its strong defensive performance. Lander was held to 30 percent shooting and only made 33% of its shots inside the arc.

Lander won the rebounding battle 54-49 and had a plus four advantage on the offensive glass.

The Bearcats were paced by Quadaija Langley's 16 points and two three-pointers. Trinity Thomas and Serenity Echols both posted double-doubles in a losing effort.

Carson-Newman wraps up its opening weekend at the SAC/Peach Belt Challenge versus USC Aiken tomorrow afternoon at Shuford Arena. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 1:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.

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