Carson-Newman never trails in blowout win over UVA Wise
December 17, 2025

Carson-Newman never trails in blowout win over UVA Wise

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the second consecutive game, Carson-Newman (7-3, 4-1 SAC) led wire to wire to win 84-58, handing UVA Wise (7-3, 4-1 SAC) its first conference loss of the year on Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse.

VIDEO: Highlights

VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

VIDEO: Chloe Heath Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the second consecutive game, Carson-Newman (7-3, 4-1 SAC) led wire to wire to win 84-58, handing UVA Wise (7-3, 4-1 SAC) its first conference loss of the year on Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse.

The Lady Eagles got an extremely balanced effort in the 26-point win. The bench erupted for a season-high 33 points and nine of the 13 Lady Eagles scored multiple field goals in the win.

"The bench came out with great effort when they got to go in," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "We tried to not go completely hockey style sub, keeping some starters on the floor. In this particular game, it worked out much better. I told them before the game today, it's a new day and new opportunity, what happened Saturday should not happen today. I think they took that to heart. The starters came out with great energy and their effort was really good. No matter where I went into the bench, they followed suit and that's what I liked the most."

Carson-Newman continues to dominate the all-time series with UVA Wise, now having won all 15 meetings in the series. 13 of the 15 wins are by double-digits and now eight of the 15 are by 20 points or more.

The Lady Eagles continue to win games when they score 70 points or more. Mincey's squad has won 31 straight games when reaching that scoring mark and is 6-0 this season when it outshoots the opposition.

For the second straight game, C-N started hot. Mincey's team scored the game's first nine points, with four different scorers involved to make it 9-0 two and a half minutes in. UVA Wise would settle in, scoring nine of the next 12 points to trim the deficit to three halfway through the period. Carson-Newman controlled the remaining five minutes of the first, outscoring Wise 15-6 to lead by 11.

The two teams traded three-pointers to start the second quarter, and then the Lady Eagles went on another scoring run. They went on a 12-0 scoring run, powered by six straight from Mattie Nuckolls (Chatsworth, Ga.) to push the lead to 24 with four to play in the half. The run extended to a 18-2 run over six plus minutes thanks to three more baskets after a Wise field goal. That big scoring run gave C-N its largest halftime lead of the year at 25.

C-N started another quarter very well, scoring 10 of the first 12 points to increase the lead to 33, four minutes into the third quarter. The lead hovered around 30+ points the entire period, before a Wise basket in the final seconds of the third made it a 29-point game entering the fourth quarter.

The Highland Cavaliers would make their run at the start of the fourth quarter. They scored eight of the first 10 points in the first two minutes to make it a 23-point game. Wise never got closer, as C-N used an 8-0 run in the final four minutes to run away with a 26-point win.

Chloe Heath (Maryville, Tenn.) and Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) each scored 14 points to lead C-N in scoring, but so many others had their hand in the 84-point effort. Emily Gonzalez (Lenoir City, Tenn.) scored 10 and dished out a team-high six assists. Caroline Hill (Kingsport, Tenn.) rounded out the double-digit scorers, leading the bench effort with her 10 points.

Heath and Nuckolls owned the painted area all evening, both leading the team in rebounds with seven each and in blocks, each recording four. As a team, C-N had a season-high 12 blocks in the win.

"Whenever their guards got downhill, me and Mattie are both long so that helps," Heath said. "So, we are just there for help side defense and we keep our hands straight up without fouling."

Not only did C-N score a season-high in bench points, it also did in fastbreak points as well by scoring 32 transition points, 16 in each half.

The Lady Eagles buried 12 triples, their second-most in a game this year. Hill, Haworth, Nuckolls and Sullivan combined to make 10 of those 12 three-pointers.

Carson-Newman stays undefeated when it wins the battle on the glass, outrebounding Wise 44-36 and 16-13 on the offensive glass. C-N was also good in transition, scoring a season-high 32 fastbreak points.

C-N's defense held UVA Wise to its second-worst shooting game of the year at 34% and also made life difficult for the conference's second best scorer. Caroline Mullins scored 18 points on her second-worst shooting game of the year, making just 37% of her field goal attempts.

Carson-Newman is back in action on Saturday afternoon against Wingate at 12:00. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 11:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A live camera of the broadcast crew "On Press Row" will also be available on YouTube.

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