COLUMBUS, Ga. – Columbus State scored 23 points off of turnovers and posted 44 points in the paint in a wire-to-wire 85-75 victory over Carson-Newman Sunday afternoon at the Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center in a nonconference contest.
"I believe that we have been outrebounded in four of the five games we have played this year," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "Post players for other teams are just wearing us out. If you can't rebound and can't take care of the basketball you aren't going to win very many basketball games. I try not to lose the fact that we are starting three sophomores but I expected us to come down here and compete much, much better.
"I told the kids that I would take as much credit as I could. I'm either not training them to be physical enough. We can all box out and we can all rebound. I think they just beat us to the basketball and they wanted it a little more. You just can't stick your hands out there and expect the ball to be there."
The opening tip was taken by C-N leading to a turnover and a runner from Britteny Tatum prompting Mincey to use a timeout 24 seconds into the contest. It was a part of a 9-3 start for the home side who closed the first quarter on a 5-0 sequence as the Lady Eagles did not score in the final 2:41 to trail 18-13 after the opening 10 minutes.
The second quarter saw the visitors pull within five points on two occasions including at 31-26 with 4:23 to play. With 2:02 left before the break sophomore Mika Wester (Newport, Tenn.) drained a three-pointer to make it a six-point game. It was the final field goal of the half for C-N as Columbus State took a 41-32 lead into the locker room.
Carson-Newman shot 36 percent from the floor in the opening half while Columbus State shot 51 percent. C-N committed 13 turnovers leading to 13 points for CSU.
Wester led the way with 10 points and six rebounds while sophomore Briana Smith (Nashville, Tenn.) had nine points, three assists and three rebounds.
Ashley Asouzu led all players with 12 points and six rebounds while going 6-for-11 from the field in the first 20 minutes of the game.
C-N shot 50 percent from the floor in third quarter and saw Columbus State go 6-for-18 but trailed by 10 at 59-49 after three frames. The Lady Eagles closed within five at 53-48 with 1:35 to play in the third quarter only to see the Cougars go on a 10-1 run to a 63-49 lead with 8:16 to play in the game.
The lead grew to as much as 17 with 5:57 to play in the contest. C-N went 10-for-20 from the floor in the second half but Columbus State made 10 of 14 free-throw attempts to seal a 10-point win.
Wester led the way in the end with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Smith registered 16 points five assists and four rebounds. Senior guard Kailyn Brooks (Lafayette, Tenn.) tallied 14 points, five helpers and three boards.
The duo of Alexis Carter and Asouzu each recorded a double-double as Carter finished with a game-high 23 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks while Asouzu had 19 points and 12 rebounds. The last tandem to have a double-double in a game against C-N was Shelly Harper (11/17) and Brooke Robinson (10/12) at Lenoir-Rhyne on Feb. 15, 2016.
Tatum finished with 15 points and five rebounds as 10 players scored for Columbus State.
The Lady Eagles return to Holt Fieldhouse Wednesday evening for a 5 p.m. start against Johnson (Tenn.). The game will be broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network via 106.3 WPFT-FM on radio and cneagles.com/live for audio and video streams beginning at 4:45 p.m. with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off".
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