HICKORY, N.C. – Haris Price became the first Carson-Newman player in 40 years to score 40 points scoring 31 of her 44 points after the break to lead the Lady Eagles' 89-81 come-from-behind win over Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday afternoon in South Atlantic Conference play at Shuford Gym.
"We knew that this was a really big game," Price said. "Down by nine isn't that bad considering this team always has our number. In the second half, not just me but everybody, we knew we had to go to the basket and shots just fell. We weren't about to lose. There is too much on the line to lose to L-R again. It wasn't just me, scoring-wise maybe, but it was a complete team effort today."
The last time a Lady Eagle scored 40 was on Feb. 22, 1979 or 790 games and 14,592 days ago when Data Caldwell scored a school record 47 points against LeMoyne-Owen on Feb. 22, 1979. The 44-point effort for Price is tied for the fifth-highest tally among Division II players on the season.
Overall, the Gatlinburg, Tenn. native went 16-for-26 from the field with four triples and eight foul shots in nine attempts adding five rebounds, four assists and three steals. With the scoring she moved her named to 12th on the school's scoring list passing Zoriah Williams and Kailyn Brooks and bringing her total to 1,212.
Carson-Newman (16-5, 9-4) has now won seven straight road contests, its second-longest streak this decade. The Lady Eagles even the tally at Lenoir-Rhyne (10-10, 5-7) all-time as each has won 17 games.
L-R came out of the locker room swinging shooting 52 percent over the first 10 minutes and surging to 10-3 lead over the first three minutes. The margin stretched to nine at 22-13 with 3:15 showing on the clock before settling at seven at 28-21 after 10 minutes.
The second stanza started with a 9-0 run by the Bears as C-N did not make its first shot from the field until the 6:19 mark. That run made it a 37-21 game, the second-largest deficit the Lady Eagles had faced all year.
Mincey's crew responded by scoring seven of the next nine fighting to make it a single-digit contest at the break at 47-38. The Bears produced the second-highest scoring first half against Carson-Newman this season while scooping up 15 second-chance points.
4⃣4⃣ Points from @HarisJordan
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 2, 2019
4⃣0⃣ Years since a @CNwbasketball player had 40 in a game
5⃣th highest tally in @NCAADII this year
3⃣1⃣ points in the second half pic.twitter.com/1TI1qRCKjt
Lenoir-Rhyne failed to score over the first three minutes of the second half as Carson-Newman scored 12 of the first 14 points of the half to take its first lead of the game on a foul shot by Kayla Marosites (Elizabethton, Tenn.) to make it 50-49.
Price took over in the third quarter scoring 14 points in the frame. A pair of foul shots from Chanler Geer (Knoxville, Tenn.) pushed C-N's lead to 63-60 after three periods.
A three-point play by Kendall Toineeta two minutes into the fourth quarter knotted the tally at 69. Price scored six unanswered as the team used an 11-3 spurt to make it an 80-72 game with 3:25 to play. The Bears never pulled within a single possession but cut the margin to four twice but Price made four foul shots in the final 29 seconds to seal a win.
C-N stretched its streak of 20-plus points off of turnovers streak to 20 games producing 21 off of 17 giveaways by the Bears limiting the home group to four second-chance points in the second half.
Marosites registered 18 points on seven of 11 shooting adding six rebounds and four steals. Tori Griffin (Strawberry Plains, Tenn.) ended the game with 11 points adding three pilfers.
Toineeta finished the game with a team-high 26 points and seven assists. Madi Suddreth added a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Madeline Hardy and Kennedy Weight piled up 15 and 17 points respectively.
The Lady Eagles get back into Holt Fieldhouse Wednesday evening for a 6 p.m. opening tip against Mars Hill looking for consecutive home wins for the first time since November.
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