JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Playing with eight healthy players Carson-Newman received quality contributions across the board building up a 44-point bulge before coasting to a 101-62 blasting of Mars Hill in South Atlantic Conference action Wednesday at Holt Fieldhouse.
"We find ourselves dressing eight and still played a fast pace," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "I thought the first quarter was good. I was real pleased with that but I think we turned it over a little much and missed some bunnies around the rim. Second quarter was not all that great. I thought we did some things towards the end that if we are in a tighter game we can't do. The way we started the third quarter, we got it stretched out. We pulled out of the press, mixed lineups and it went downhill from there."
Carson-Newman (9-2, 7-1) tallies its 11th consecutive win over Mars Hill (1-9, 1-7) scoring triple digits against the Lions for the fourth time in the last five meetings at home. The only outlier was a 99-point effort in February.
The Lady Eagles yanked down 64 rebounds, the first time they pulled down at least 60 since Nov. 13, 2019 with 61 against King, 57 days and 765 days ago. It is the ninth-most by a Division II team this season and the second-highest in the SAC behind Newberry's 68 against Queens on Dec. 8.
Addison Byrd (Nashville, Tenn.) flirted with a triple double-double racking up 16 points adding career highs with 18 rebounds and eight assists in 33 minutes of play. It was the third double-double of her career and first since a win over No. 7 Tusculum on Jan. 20, 2021.
"I always have the same mentality," Byrd said. "We need a rebounder since we lost Kayla Marosites. I have always tried to fill that role because Kayla could rebound like crazy. I always try to get more rebounds. I have been close multiple times being one rebound away [from a double-double] and I needed to get over that hump. I finally did it. I'm proud."
Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) led the Lady Eagles in scoring with a season-high 25 points going 8-for-15 from the field with four trifectas making all five foul shots. The junior added four boards, three assists and two steals. She moved up two slots on the all-time scoring list into No. 19 with 1,147 points.
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— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) December 16, 2021
1️⃣1️⃣ straight @CNwbasketball wins over Mars Hill
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Skylar Boshears (LaFollette, Tenn.) posted 17 points dishing out six assists and four steals. Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) was limited to 20 minutes on the floor but made six of eight shots finishing with 16 points.
Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) snatched 12 rebounds, a new career high, adding seven points and swatting four shots. Syndey Pearce (Johnson City, Tenn.) posted eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
Abby Wilson (Kingston, Tenn.) registered seven points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals. Makayla Alvey (Dandridge, Tenn.) added seven rebounds with five points and two steals.
Mincey's club scored 56 points in the paint and forced 25 turnovers turning the giveaways into a season-high matching 40 points off of turnovers. The Lady Eagles assisted on 25 of 37 made shots.
After Mars Hill scored the first points of the game, the Lady Eagles used an 18-4 scoring to go ahead 26-6 on a trifecta from Wykle with 4:33 to play in the quarter. Highlighted by a 12-0 scoring spurt, the Lady Eagles produced their second-highest scoring stanza of the season taking a 36-16 advantage after 10 minutes.
De'Ja Marshall scored 12 consecutive points for the Lions to trim the margin to 44-26 with 6:12 to play before halftime. The Orange and Blue responded by rattling off 12 in a row and built up a 61-28 lead before the Lions scored the final six points of the half to make it a 61-34 tally at the break.
The Lions made two of 16 shots from the floor in the third quarter with the Lady Eagles using a 21-4 burst to go ahead 82-38 on a layup from Alvey. C-N took an 86-42 advantage into the final period.
To start the fourth frame, Mars Hill scored the first eight points of the period forcing a timeout from Mincey as it took 2:44 to put points on the board. The Lions outscored the Lady Eagles 20-15 in the final quarter as C-N shot 37 percent from the field in the second half.
Marshall led all scorers in the game with 26 points going 11-for-19 from the field adding eight rebounds. Maddie Gillie chipped in 13 points off of the pine making five of seven shots from the floor. Zanah Boyd fouled out but scored 11 points in 14 minutes.
The Lady Eagles close out the first semester on Saturday at 2 p.m. travelling to the Timken Center for a contest against Limestone with broadcast coverage airing on the Eagle Sports Network 15 minutes before tip with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off".
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