ANDERSON, S.C. – Madison Baggett notched a triple-double and Anderson scored the first 12 points of the game used a 16-3 fourth-quarter run to defeat Carson-Newman 84-76 in South Atlantic Conference action Wednesday night at the Abney Athletic Center.
"We started a run and got a shot of adrenaline to get that five-point lead," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "We had been fighting back all night. You could see a potential victory but we started making some silly mistakes with turnovers. We continually put them at the free-throw line."
Madison Baggett became the first player to ever record a triple-double against the Lady Eagles finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Trojans came out of the gates scorching hot scoring the first 12 points of the game and making their first five shot attempts to take a 15-2 lead. The margin was 14 at 23-9 with 3:54 to play in the opening quarter when C-N went on an 11-0 spurt capped by a triple from the left wing from Briana Smith (Nashville, Tenn.). A late layup from Bailey Sims made it a 25-20 game after 10 minutes.
The second stanza saw the teams go a combined 10-for-33 from the field as Anderson outscored Carson-Newman 15-13 taking a 40-33 advantage into the locker room.
The Trojans capitalized off of eight C-N giveaways scoring 10 points in the first half and racking up 18 points in the paint.
Senior forward Kaitlyn Cupples (Clinton, Tenn.) scored a season-high 12 points in the first half making three of four from the field and going 6-for-7 at the free-throw line as the only player to score in double figures in the first half for either side.
Anderson shot 60 percent from the field in the third quarter as C-N gained three points on the scoreboard by making 50 percent and make it a 57-53 game entering the last frame.
To open the fourth quarter, Carson-Newman scored 10 of the first 11 points to take its first lead of the game at 58-57 on a driving left-handed layup by Kailyn Brooks (Lafayette, Tenn.). The lead expanded to five points at 66-61 with 5:32 to play.
The home group started getting to the charity stripe, attempting 16 shots in the final five minutes and going 19-for-21 in the quarter overall. Anderson reeled off nine unanswered points to regain a lead it would never relinquish and scored 16 of the next 19 points to go ahead 77-69 with 1:26 to play. The Trojans made free throws down the stretch as C-N pulled within six at 80-74 only to see time run out.
Brooks scored 18 points to go along with four assists, three steals and a trio of rebounds. Mika Wester (Newport, Tenn.) finished with 18 points and five rebounds and Cupples ended the evening with 14 points and eight boards.
Heather Jankowy scored a game-high 23 points as Alexy Mollenhauer and Jasmine Franklin each tossed in 13 points in the game.
The Lady Eagles head back to the friendly confines looking to avenge an early season loss to Lenoir-Rhyne when the Bears come to Mossy Creek for a 2 p.m. contest Saturday afternoon. The Eagle Sports Network has the coverage on Mountain Country 106.3 WPFT-FM and on cneagles.com/live with audio and high definition video streams available beginning at 1:45 with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off".
- CN -
