VIDEO: Jecca Simerly Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the second time this season 19th-ranked Carson-Newman tallied the third-most points in program history on its way to a dominating win as the Lady Eagles put a beatdown on the reigning region titleholders, Columbus State, 119-91 Sunday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.
"We knew we were facing a really good opponent," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "Once we finally got going we settled. The pace of play really lended to us. We are at home. We had played Tuesday. They haven't played a game since last Saturday. We got some easy baskets in transition. Once you see the ball going through the basket some good things can start happening."
Carson-Newman (7-0) now has two of the top five scoring efforts in Division II on the year with today's effort being the third-highest tally of the season.
In 12 meetings with Columbus State (2-2), the Lady Eagles had won four games by 14 points entering today's effort as the Cougars lose back-to-back contests for the first time since January 2016.
Trailing 11-7, C-N held Columbus State without a bucket for 2:01 and used a 7-0 spurt in a 1:06 span to go on top 16-11 with 3:59 to play in the first quarter. The Lady Eagles went 3:56 without a field goal as Briana Smith (Nashville, Tenn.) made a driving layup on the right block as time expired to give the home group a 22-18 advantage after 10 minutes.
Mincey's group saw its offense explode in the second stanza. Zomoria Clark made two foul shots 12 ticks into the frame to cut the deficit to two points. C-N exploded for a 15-2 spurt as Haris Price (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) scored nine points during the stretch.
In the second quarter, Columbus State missed all seven shots from long distance and went 5-for-21 from the field while Carson-Newman shot 60 percent from the floor and made eight foul shots. Overall, the Lady Eagles outscored the Cougars 34-12 in the second to go on top 56-30 at the break.
A pair of 7-0 sequences late in the third quarter extended the lead for the Lady Eagles as C-N went 12-for-18 from the field in the frame. A triple from Price in the final half minute made it a 90-56 contest with 10 minutes to go.
Columbus State racked up 35 points in the final quarter as Tatiana Wayne scored 18 points for the Cougars in the final frame. The Lady Eagles with 13-for-16 from the stripe in the final 10 minutes to maintain the bulge coasting to a victory.
Price led the Lady Eagles with 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds going 10-for-18 from the field in the game. Mika Wester (Newport, Tenn.) also flirted with a triple-double with 15 points, seven boards and seven helpers.
Going a flawless 7-for-7 from the floor, Jecca Simerly (Talbott, Tenn.) posted a season-high 16 points while collecting four caroms with four assists and three steals.
"We played a fast-paced game," Simerly stated. "They couldn't keep up at times so that helped us put a lot of points on the board. They are very unselfish and once they are targeted it alleviates the pressure on me and they can throw the ball in."
Smith ended the day with 15 points. Kelci Marosites (Elizabethton, Tenn.) finished with 12 points in 11 minutes of action. Kayla Marosites (Elizabethton, Tenn.) had 10 points and six rebounds.
Wayne registered a game-high 37 points on the night going 7-for-13 from beyond the arc picking up seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Machala Raymonville, the team's leading scorer entering the day, had 13 points going 6-for-16 from the field and Tatum Jarvis scored 11.
Mincey's squad picked off 25 turnovers lead to 30 points off of giveaways tallying 42 fast break points in the game. Columbus State hauled in 31 offensive rebounds and scored 35 second-chance points.
Carson-Newman opens South Atlantic Conference play Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse against Mars Hill at 6 p.m. The Eagle Sports Network hits the airwaves at 5:45 p.m. with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off" on 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and cneagles.com/live.
Three straight 100-point efforts and seven wins out of the gates. Peep in the infographic after another strong offensive showing for @CNwbasketball. pic.twitter.com/Uq5ndCdhsR
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) November 26, 2017
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