BREVARD, N.C. – Carson-Newman picked up its first win of greater than 50 points against a Division II school since the 2009-10 season with a 92-41 dismantling of Brevard Wednesday night at Boshamer Gymnasium to hand the Tornados their eighth straight loss in South Atlantic Conference play.
The last win of 50 points or more for Carson-Newman (9-6, 6-3) came on Jan. 20, 2010 when the Lady Eagles pounded the Tornados (5-8, 1-8) in the same facility 114-64.
The 41 points yielded by the Lady Eagles were the fewest points yielded in a road game since defeating Newberry 66-37 on Jan. 16, 1999.
"I was impressed with the intensity altogether," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "Going on the road and no matter who you are playing, if you come out flat it's going to be a long night for you. That's two road games this semester and played really hard. I thought they brought good energy out of the press. We sped them up. We gave them some looks but they missed them."
From behind-the-arc Carson-Newman went 12-for-20 overall on the night shooting 60 percent for the first time since Feb. 18, 2015 at Anderson (S.C.) when it went six-for-nine, 67 percent.
Brevard shot 27.3 percent overall on the night marking the second time since Christmas break that the Lady Eagles held a foe to under 30 percent shooting. Mars Hill shot 28.8 percent on New Year's Eve.
Brevard took a 4-2 advantage before going on 3:30 minute scoring drought to see C-N use a 7-0 run to take the lead. A 14-2 overall spurt saw the lead extend to 16-6 with 2:08 to play in the first quarter. Cienna Bryant hit a three-pointer to close out the scoring in the opening 10 minutes to see the visitors carry a 16-9 advantage to the second.
Bryant's three-pointer was the last made field-goal for the Tornados for a stretch of 6:33 in which C-N went on an 8-0 run. Overall, the home group went 2-for-14 from the field while the visitors went 8-for-15 over the second 10-minute session. The Lady Eagles outscored Brevard 19-5 in the second stanza to take a 35-14 lead into the locker room. The five points from Brevard was the fewest a C-N foe has scored in any quarter this season.
Sophomore forward Mika Wester (Newport, Tenn.) was the only player on either side to score in double figures posting 12 points and four rebounds to extend her streak of double-digit scoring outings to 14 contests.
In the second half, Carson-Newman went nine-for-14 from long range and shot over 50 percent as a unit. A 12-2 sequence over three minutes in the third quarter saw the lead balloon from 46-18 to 58-20 with 2:56 to play in the third. The Tornados cut the lead by one point to 64-27 to end the third stanza.
The largest lead of the game came with 53 seconds to play on a running layup from senior forward Kaitlyn Cupples (Clinton, Tenn.) capped a 12-2 run over 3:43 of the contest.
Wester finished the game tied for the game-high in points with 14 on the night thanks to six of nine shooting from the field coupled with five rebounds in 22 minutes.
Sophomore guard Ashton Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) played 15 minutes, all in the second half, to pile up a season-high 14 points on five of six shooting including four three-pointers.
"It's big for confidence," Wykle said. "I had been putting in work off of the court and big for the rest of the season. Sometimes the second team does not keep the momentum going so it was an effort to keep the momentum going. We go more than five players deep."
Senior guard Carly Pippin (Sevierville, Tenn.) and freshman guard Tori Griffin (Jefferson City, Tenn.) added double figures as well with 11 and 10 respectively.
Madison Lenox ended the night with 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks for Brevard and AnnaLee Bollinger added 11 for coach Donald Hudson.
The Lady Eagles stay on the road for a Saturday afternoon affair at Coker beginning at 2 p.m. The game will have broadcast coverage on 106.3 WPFT-FM and cneagles.com/live starting with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off" on the Eagle Sports Network.
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