VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview
VIDEO: Braelyn Wykle Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Despite streaky offensive showings down the stretch, Carson-Newman was able to contain a fourth-quarter Newberry comeback to collect a 64-55 win to open the season inside Holt Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening.
"I think we've got a lot of work to do," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "I was real curious to see how we were going to play. I think at times, it was the Carson-Newman team of old and then at other times, it was a team that I didn't really recognize. We're not really breaking in new people, but we're breaking in new people who get to play and log a lot of minutes."
With the win, Carson-Newman (1-0, 1-0 South Atlantic Conference) moves to nine straight season-opening victories. In the series against Newberry (1-3, 1-3 SAC), Mincey's crew extends its winning streak to 10 in row.
Carson-Newman led by as much as 19 during the affair but saw the Wolves grab a pair of scoring runs in the second half, including a 13-1 sprint in the fourth, close the gap to a single-digit difference. The Lady Eagles were shooting nearly 47-percent from the field heading into the break before dropping to a 38-percent showing in the second. It was Qua Hines (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) who provided the final dagger needed in the win with a three from the right wing to distance C-N just enough for the win.
"That was super big for us," Braelyn Wykle said. "We all have confidence in each other because we know what we're capable of. Just to see that go in -- that was amazing because we were kind of struggling in that little set right there, but we all had confidence in her to make that shot."
9⃣ straight season-opening wins
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) December 3, 2020
�� consecutive victories over Newberry
2⃣0⃣ points from @B_Wykle pic.twitter.com/D3sayvE1An
Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) led a trio of Eagles who saw double-digit figures on the night, scoring 20 points with eight assists. Addison Byrd (Nashville, Tenn.) added on 14 points while Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) made her C-N debut just shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
C-N started the game draining four of its first five shots from the field, all within the first five minutes of action. A 9-1 scoring run capped by a Katie Bean layup gave the Lady Eagles one of their two 10-point leads toward the waning moments of the opening stanza. Newberry's Payton Cronen knocked down a three to keep the Orange and Blue lead at 18-11 to start the second quarter.
Newberry made the most of C-N's offensive struggles to open the second period, nailing six of its first 11 looks at the basket to cut the Lady Eagles' lead to two, 28-26. Wykle took control from there to put the distance C-N from the surging Wolves, sinking a layup and a pair of jumpers to send C-N into the break with a 36-28 lead. She scored 11 of the team's 18 points alone in the second to lead all players with 13.
C-N opened the third quarter with four turnovers in nearly three minutes, matching their first-half output of giveaways. Despite that, the Lady Eagles used a 16-6 spurt to get back on track with a Wykle steal and score and a Harlie Smith layup pushing C-N to a 52-33 lead, its largest lead to that point. The Wolves bit into the lead, following with a 6-0 run to close out the third to leave C-N ahead by 13 with 10 minutes left to play.
Newberry continued to claw back with a 13-1 scoring surge in the fourth that started with back-to-back threes from Cronen. Hines' dagger with 29 seconds remaining ended a 10-shot drought for Carson-Newman with a right-wing three to stop the Wolves' scoring onslaught, putting C-N up 60-55.
Mincey's group held Newberry to 38-percent shooting on the day, including just a three-point effort from the Wolves' leading scorer Courtney Virgo. Cronen ended up being the top producer for the Wolves, knocking down 19 points with 5-of-7 shooting from long distance. Ericka Wiseley provided 11 additional points. The Wolves committed 20 turnovers to C-N's 13 with both sides scoring 13 points off of those giveaways.
The Lady Eagles will take a week away from action before hosting Anderson on December 9. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. for the Wednesday contest. Broadcast coverage for that matchup gears up at 5:15 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" on 106.3 The Mountain (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online with video and audio on cneagles.com/live.
