BREVARD, N.C. – Carson-Newman senior forward Zoriah Williams (Calera, Ala.) scored her 1,000th career point and moved to seventh on the school's all-time rebounding list as the Lady Eagles wore down Brevard on Wednesday night, 68-50, in Boshamer Gymnasium.
The Lady Eagles closed the game on a 22-3 run to break open a back-and-forth game to move to 11-8 overall and 5-6 in South Atlantic Conference play.
Williams led the Eagles with 15 points and seven rebounds in the contest, scoring her 1,000th career point on a layup at the 16:59 mark, to pace the Carson-Newman offense in the win. Shannon Depew added 11 points and nine boards, while Howard scored 10 points and handed out five assists to help lead an Eagle offense which shot 45.6 percent (26-57) from the floor against the Tornados.
Williams also passed Tiffany Parker on C-N's all-time rebounding list with a first-half rebound for her 738th career rebound, moving her into seventh in program history.
Brevard (5-14, 0-11 SAC) was paced to a 35-30 halftime lead behind a combined 19 points by Watkins and Brendle, going up by as many as eight points in the first 20 minutes of the contest. The Eagles (11-8, 5-6 SAC) battled back in the second half, taking a 48-47 on a jumper by Lundyn Howard and Carson-Newman pulled away late with a 20-3 run to close out the contest in completing the season sweep.
Watkins led the Tornados with 13 points, going 7-for-8 from the free throw line and added four steals, while Brendle was also in double-digits with 11 points in 25 minutes. Lacey Singletary added eight points and four blocked shots in the loss.
Holli Flippo opened the scoring in the contest with a free throw at the 19:06 mark and the lone point remained the only score in the game until Williams put the Eagles on the board at the 17:22 mark with a pair from the charity stripe.
The remainder of the first half would be contested with neither team holding more than a one possession lead as the teams traded the lead 10 times, tying on six different occasions in the first half before a pair of free throws by Brendle snapped a 22-22 tie to put Brevard up 24-22 with 5:34 on the clock. The free throws opened a 10-2 run as the Tornados built their largest lead of the contest at 32-24 on a jumper by Singletary from the top of the key with 3:20 to play in the half.
Brevard retained the lead heading into the halftime break as Watkins hit a pair of free throws with 1:51 to play to put the score at 34-26, but the Eagles closed out the half scoring four of the last five points behind Cassie Bates' three-point play to put the score at 35-30 at the half.
The Eagles continued their run out of the break, scoring the first six points of the second half to take a 36-35 lead on a Depew layup at the 17:14 mark. The teams traded the lead five times in the first 13 minutes of the contest before Carson-Newman again took a one-point lead on a Howard jumper with 6:36 to play in the contest, as the Eagles took the 48-47 advantage.
The Howard basket sparked a 12-0 run for Carson-Newman before a short jumper by Singletary ended the Eagles streak, putting the score at 58-49 at the 3:38 mark. Carson-Newman closed out the contest on a 10-1 run to complete the season sweep with the 68-50 victory.
C-N flipped the turnover numbers in the second half, overcoming 14 first half miscues to force 16 in the second half, including a number during its deciding run in the final 10 minutes as the Lady Eagles shut down Brevard with their full-court pressure.
Carson-Newman returns to action on Saturday against Wingate University. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. in Holt Fieldhouse.