KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles women's basketball team finished their exhibition schedule by falling to the No. 4 Tennessee Lady Volunteers 115-31 at Thompson-Boling Arena on Monday night.
The win for Tennessee is the tenth straight in the exhibition series and marked the ninth time in 10 meetings that the Lady Vols have scored over the century mark against Carson-Newman.
"I leave here a little bit disappointed because I didn't feel like we handled the pressure like I wanted to," said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. "We didn't execute in the half-court like I was hoping in the offensive end. But overall you kind of know what you're getting into when you come down here."
Carson-Newman was led in scoring by sophomore Jai Jai McLaughlin, who scored all eight of her points in the first half and collected two rebounds.
"I thought as usual Jai Jai played pretty hard," Mincey said.
Right behind McLaughlin in scoring was freshman Katie Stubblefield (Alcoa, Tenn.) who scored seven points and also had two rebounds. Fellow freshman Kaitlyn Cupples (Clinton, Tenn.) grabbed three rebounds and played a physical game with Tennessee's posts.
"Katie and Kaitlyn came here as true freshmen and they came in here not playing scared," Mincey said. "They were attacking the rim so I thought those two, the way we were playing, to step on this floor and produce, doesn't have to be points, but they were very productive players tonight."
The Lady Vols built an early advantage, outscoring Carson-Newman 20-0 in the first nine minutes of the game. Tennessee led at halftime 51-17, behind a 15-point first half performance from Bashaara Graves.
Graves continued her production in the second half and collected a double-double in the contest, the second of her career against the Lady Eagles. Graves led Tennessee with 21 points and 11 rebounds in her first performance of the 2013-14 season.
Tennessee had five scorers with double-digit points, and the nation's No. 1 recruit from the 2013 signing class Mercedes Russell made her Tennessee debut with 16 points, four rebounds, and four blocks.
The Lady Eagles shot 16 percent from the field in the contest, and senior Chante' Markus (Hummelstown, Pa.) hit Carson-Newman's lone three pointer in 13 attempts. Carson-Newman was outscored by Tennessee 64-14 in the second half as the Lady Vols collected the 84-point victory.
The regular season for Carson-Newman begins on Saturday night at Holt Fieldhouse, as the Lady Eagles welcome Lees-McRae for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Coverage is available on the Eagle Sports Network.
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