OWENSBORO, Ky. – Five players scored in double figures and the Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (10-0) shoot 55 percent from the floor in the second half to defeat the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans (4-7) 82-72 Friday night at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
"Trevecca has players that play really hard," head coach Mike Mincey said. "Even if we got up double digits on them they are going to keep going. There were times where I thought 'if we get a stop here, we'll be fine' and then we give up a three or an old-fashioned three-point play. It was very frustrating in a way. We put up 82 points and I don't think we played that well offensively other than shooting the three and obviously we made our free throws."
The Trojans scored the first bucket of the game before the Lady Eagles went on a 10-2 run to take a six-point lead after junior guard Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) buried a triple. Trevecca Nazarene chipped away at the lead and took a 22-20 advantage with 7:55 to play in the opening half. It would mark the last time Carson-Newman trailed as Burstrom knocked down another deep ball on the next possession. The Trojans closed the half on a 5-0 run to make it a 37-35 score at the break. Freshman forward Jecca Simerly (Talbott, Tenn.) had nine points and three rebounds in the opening half.
The second half was filled with mini-runs as the Trojans continuously cut any Carson-Newman lead to three points. The big sequence began with a three-pointer by junior forward Taylor Peterson (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) with 9:08 left to push the Lady Eagle lead back to six points at 59-53. After a layup and a free throw made it a three-point game, Peterson buried another triple which Burstrom matched moments later to give Carson-Newman a 65-58 lead with 7:39 to play.
"I have a lot of faith in those players," Mincey said. "They've showed me that they can win games. There's no reason for me to stop them and draw up plays for them. They are just getting out in transition and shooting it within the motion of the offense. A lot of credit goes to them for being able to put the ball in the basket."
Carson-Newman never led by fewer than five points the rest of the way as a second half free throw shooting clinic that saw the Lady Eagles convert 17 of 20 attempts allowed Mincey's group to pull away for the victory.
Senior forward Whitney Kyle had 14 points and eight rebounds while converting all six free throw attempts to lead the way for the Lady Eagles.
"We just kept trying to push the ball and try to wear them out," Kyle said. "Our press was what really helped us wear them down and get some transition points. It helped settle them down a little bit."
Simerly finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, Burstrom and junior guard Jai Jai McLaughlin (Knoxville, Tenn.) had 11 points while sophomore forward Kaitlyn Cupples (Clinton, Tenn.) had 10 points.
"We aren't playing our best basketball," Mincey said. "We haven't peaked by any means, but they are still able to pull out victories knowing that we are going to take everyone's best punch."
Carson-Newman closes out the 2014 calendar year with a contest against the host of the Fairfield Inn Christmas Classic, Kentucky Wesleyan, Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. The broadcast will start at 3:45 with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-off".
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