JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman College Lady Eagles forced 38 turnovers and pulled down a school-record 27 offensive rebounds to overcome a cold-shooting afternoon and beat Anderson (S.C.) University, 68-57, on Sunday at Holt Fieldhouse.

With the win, C-N improves to 1-0 on the year, while Anderson falls to 0-1.

“Our nerves were sky high tonight and that was one of my concerns about playing our first game at home,” said Head Coach Dean Walsh. “We played too high almost the entire game but finally found a rhythm with about five minutes left in the second half. Although we had way too many turnovers (26) and let them get to the line too much, I’m pleased with our level of intensity, our rebounding and our defense.”

Carson-Newman shot a mere 31.4 percent (22-for-70) from the floor for the contest, a far cry from its 47.3 percent mark last year which was second in NCAA Division II.

“We missed way too many layups, if we made them we probably could have scored 40 more points,” continued Walsh. “However we did a good job staying in our press even off of our missed shots, but it would have been better if we made more shots and had more time to set it up.”

After trailing by one at 5-4, the Lady Eagles held Anderson scoreless for a six-minute stretch in the first half to build a lead they would never give up. C-N outscored the visiting Trojans 16-0 to take a 21-9 lead with seven minutes to play before intermission. Anderson went on a 12-3 run over the final three minutes of the period to close the margin to 34-24.

After the break, C-N held a single digit lead before the Lady Eagles saw their advantage cut to its closest margin at five with 2:49 to play. Sophomore guard Katlin Moore (Fort Mill, S.C.) answered with one of four late three-pointers to push the lead back out to eight. C-N missed on its first 13 opportunities from outside the arc, before making 4-of-5 to close.

Senior forward Shari Buford (Hampton, Ga.) led the Lady Eagles with nine points and 17 rebounds, while fellow All-South Atlantic Conference selection senior guard Ashley Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) had 17 points including 8-of-9 from the charity stripe and added four assists. Freshman forward Courdne Miles (Burlington, N.C.) chipped in 10 points in her first college game.

“Shari did a great job on the boards, and we will get better at finishing as the season progresses,” concluded Walsh. “Courdne did well in her first game also. We got a good win over a quality opponent that has been in the NCAA Tournament for the past couple years, and we can be happy about that."

Anderson was led by Shanice Wilson (Piedmont, S.C.) and Alexa Neal (Greensboro, N.C.) as the pair tallied 12 and 11 points, respectively. Ashley Abed (Oakton, Va.) had team highs of five rebounds and five steals as well for the Trojans.

Carson-Newman returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Augusta State University at Holt Fieldhouse. Tipoff is for 6:00 p.m.