Lady Eagles falter in final frame, lose 66-59 to Wingate
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Wingate (16-8, 11-7 SAC) outscored Carson-Newman (16-8, 12-6 SAC) 29 to 12 in the fourth quarter to win 66-59 on Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
16 | 8 | 13 | 29 | 66 |
|
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18 | 17 | 12 | 12 | 59 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Wingate (16-8, 11-7 SAC) outscored Carson-Newman (16-8, 12-6 SAC) 29 to 12 in the fourth quarter to win 66-59 on Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.
The loss ends Carson-Newman's perfect regular season at home and ends a 15-game home winning streak, the third-longest in program history
"We started off well in this game," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "Lost some momentum and stopped scoring and it was more of the same into the second. Luckily Wingate went cold and we found some buckets late to take an 11-point lead into the break. It's somewhat mesmerizing how poorly we played here at home, to take nothing away from Wingate who came in here and beat us on our home floor. I've never seen a performance quite like I saw in the second half."
Cybil Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) scored a layup on the opening possession of the fourth quarter to push C-N's lead to 12, but it was all Wingate the rest of the way. WU's Maggie Shorma started and ended a 9-0 scoring run with a pair of triples to make it a three-point game. One Emily Gonzalez (Lenoir City, Tenn.) free throw was sandwiched between six more WU points to give them the lead.
Mattie Nuckolls (Chatsworth, Ga.) scored one of her six field goals to tie the game with 4:35 to play, but the Bulldogs stayed efficient. They scored eight of the next 11 points to lead by five with 2:31 left. Gonzalez drilled her fifth shot of the day to make it a three-point game with 1:57 left, but C-N got no closer. The Bulldogs scored their final basket with 38 seconds left and made free throws to seal a seven-point win.
In the fourth quarter, Carson-Newman was five for 15 from the field and one of five from long range along with five turnovers. Wingate was nine of 14 in the fourth and made both its three-pointers in the final frame and had just one turnover.
Carson-Newman had quality moments throughout the game, particularly to start and end the first half. A Nuckolls triple started a 12-0 scoring run in the first four plus minutes of the game. Over the final five minutes of the first, and first five minutes of the second, C-N was outscored 24-11 and trailed by one with 5:25 left in the half. Just as it started the half, the Lady Eagles surged ahead with a 12-0 scoring run to lead 35-24 at intermission an, shooting 47 percent in the first half to overcome 12 turnovers.
The third quarter of play was back and forth, with C-N leading by as many as 11 and WU getting no closer than seven.
A second career Mattie Nuckolls (Chatsworth, Ga.) double-double was spoiled in the loss. The junior scored 16 points with 12 rebounds and blocked four shots.
Gonzalez finished with 16 points as well.
Carson-Newman was unable to overcome 20 turnovers, tied for its second-most in a game this season. Wingate capitalized by scoring 17 points off the turnovers.
The Bulldogs were 32 percent from the field before making nine of its 14 fourth quarter shots to finish with a 39 percent mark.
Three WU players scored in double figures with Chi' Nya Isaac's 13 leading the way.
Carson-Newman is back in action on Wednesday evening versus Emory & Henry. Tip off with the Wasps is scheduled 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. A live camera of the broadcast crew "On Press Row" will also be available on YouTube.
Team Stats
Wingate
| Game Statistics | Wingate | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (24-61) | (23-60) |
| Field Goal % | 39.3% | 38.3% |
| Rebounds | 40 | 43 |
| Assists | 9 | 13 |
| Turnovers | 12 | 20 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 17 | 11 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 11 | 14 |
| Pts in the Paint | 40 | 30 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 14 | 10 |
| Bench Pts | 20 | 11 |
