Lady Eagles use triples to top errant foul-shooting Railsplitters

Lady Eagles use triples to top errant foul-shooting Railsplitters

VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

VIDEO: Tatum Burstrom Interview

VIDEO: Game Highlights

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman made 11 three-pointers and went 6-for-10 from long range in the second half to hold off Lincoln Memorial 79-72 Wednesday evening at Holt Fieldhouse as the Railsplitters went 4-for-11 at the free-throw line in the game.

"It seems like it's contagious when one or two of them are hitting," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "It was just a pretty good effort both defensively and offensively in that third quarter to get that lead going into the fourth quarter."

Carson-Newman (14-5, 8-5 South Atlantic Conference) has now won 11 of the last 12 meetings at Holt Fieldhouse against Lincoln Memorial (11-7, 8-5 SAC).

Since the beginning of the 1999-00 season, Carson-Newman is now 55-7 when making at least eight three-pointers in a game and extends its streak to 119 straight games with a make from three.

Carson-Newman used an 8-0 run and a 6-0 spurt sandwiched around a 5-0 sequence for Lincoln Memorial in the first quarter to take a 22-13 advantage after 10 minutes. The Lady Eagles went 9-for-16 from the floor in the quarter.

The Lady Eagles extended their lead to 12 points with 9:52 to play in the second stanza prior to a scoring drought that last to the 3:15 mark as the Railsplitters pulled within six points. The lead was eight at 31-23 with 1:45 to play in the half when Lincoln Memorial used a 10-0 run to close out the half capped by a 25-foot three-pointer off of the window by Sydnie Anderson as the first half expired to give the Railsplitters their first lead of the game at halftime of 33-31.

C-N went 4-for-17 in the second quarter and shot 39 percent from the floor in the half while not getting to the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes of action. No one on either side scored in double figures as senior forward Taylor Peterson (Mount Juliet, Tenn.) and junior guard Kailyn Brooks (Lafayette, Tenn.) led all scorers with eight points each.

"We had a great first quarter," Mincey said. "[We] got a nine-point lead and we come out in the second quarter and they came out in zone. We had some good looks, we just didn't get them to fall. We weren't getting anything inside."

Lincoln Memorial shot 63 percent from the floor in the third quarter but Carson-Newman outscored the visiting group by nine points making 5 of 6 from three-point range to take a 62-55 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The closest the Railsplitters would get in the fourth quarter was five points at the 4:24 mark with C-N holding a 67-62 lead. The Lady Eagles made back-to-back layups to get the lead back to nine and converted 8 of 10 shots at the charity stripe in the final two minutes.

Lincoln Memorial entered the game outrebounding opponents by 11.7 per game, the third-highest margin in the nation, but finished in a tie at 37 on the night.

Brooks led all scorers with 23 points, her fifth 20-point game of the season while Peterson finished with 16 points. Senior guard Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) passed Ashley Tipton for 14th on the program's all-time scoring list scoring 17 points bringing her career tally to 1,093.

"It was really nice to be back in Holt," Burstrom said. "I love shooting in this gym anyway and Anderson was okay and then Newberry wasn't feeling right. I knew coming back in here we had LMU, a big rivalry, so we were all ready to get hot and light it up."

Senior guard Jai Jai McLaughlin finished the night with three points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 33 minutes.

Three Lincoln Memorial players finished with 10 points as Kiara Rawls, Shea Coker and Stephanie Smith all paced the visiting team.

Carson-Newman welcomes Queens (N.C.) to Holt Fieldhouse for a 2 p.m. start Saturday afternoon as league play continues. Pregame coverage begins at 1:45 on the Eagle Sports Network with the Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off on cneagles.com/live and 106.3 WPFT-FM.

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