VIDEO: Lindsey Taylor Interview
GREENVILLE, S.C. – For the third time in program history, second-seeded Carson-Newman is the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Champions winning by a record-setting 25 points, 83-58, over fourth-seeded Anderson Sunday at Timmons Arena.
"We came out and defended well early," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "We didn't give up offensive rebounds to a really good offensive rebounding team. On our end, we were hot in the first half and shot the ball well. We had a lot of people that were scoring it well. In this environment I was looking forward to watching them play a complete game on both ends of the floor. I can't be any happier than what I saw from them today."
The 25-point differential matched the league's largest margin of victory in a title game matching the 25-point spread by Presbyterian in 1998. With 83 points, the club came within two points of the championship game high mark.
Carson-Newman (26-5) wins the conference tournament for the third time joining the 2005 and 2018 teams earning the conference's automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Women's Basketball Championships.
A trio of Lady Eagles were tabbed all-tournament team selections with Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) being named the tournament's MVP after scoring 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting with nine rebounds in 23 minutes in the title game.
"I think our team chemistry right now has been better than ever," Taylor said. "I think everyone realized how hard we worked this season. We earned it and deserved it. We had to fight for it in the final game. We wanted to go out there and get this SAC title. That was in the back of my mind to get the win and seal the NCAA bid."
Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) and Abby Wilson (Kingston, Tenn.) were also pinned to the all-tournament club. Wykle led all scorers with 21 points adding nine rebounds and five assists. Wilson chipped in 14 points, four boards and four assists going 5-for-10 from the field.
Addison Byrd (Nashville, Tenn.) was the only other player in double figures with 10 points adding seven rebounds. Against a team that was No. 5 in the country in rebounding, C-N was plus-19 on the glass holding a 51-32 advantage.
�� Efficient shooting
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 6, 2022
�� Largest margin of victory in a SAC title game
�� @B_Wykle filling up the stat sheet
3️⃣ SAC Tournament titles for @CNwbasketball pic.twitter.com/gAp6tSoKnd
Anderson scored eight of the game's first 10 points over the first four minutes to take a six-point lead before Carson-Newman found its offense. The Lady Eagles ended the quarter on a 17-4 burst scoring the final eight unanswered to lead 19-12 after 10 minutes.
It was another quick start to the second period for the Trojans scored the first five to pull within a deuce. Mincey's group threw the counter punch rattling off 11 unanswered and responded after a 6-0 surge by Anderson to score nine straight and expand the lead to as many as 18 in the first half before settling on a 42-26 lead at halftime.
The closest Anderson would get in the third quarter was 13 points as neither side scored more than four straight points. Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) drilled a trifecta with 13 seconds to go to make it a 55-39 game going to the fourth.
In the fourth frame, C-N put the pedal to the medal scoring the first 11 and held a lead as large as 29 points making eight of 11 shot attempts putting up 28 points to seal the victory.
"I am extremely proud," Mincey said. "I think the kids came out and they wanted it. I didn't make a bucket. We just tried to put them in the scheme and put the right kids on the floor. They were the ones that made it happen. You want to play your best basketball this time of the year. I don't know if we are playing our best but today was a pretty darn good basketball game for our players."
The Lady Eagles put the clamps down defensively holding the Trojans to 33 percent shooting in the game as Shameka McNeill, the nation's second-leading scorer, was held to 17 points on 7-for-24 shooting after posting 22.4 on average for the season.
Samantha Michel was the only other player in double figures posting 10 off of the bench. The Trojans only turned the ball over nine times and scored 15 points off of 15 C-N giveaways.
With the triumph, Carson-Newman seals the automatic bid in the Southeast Region Tournament set to begin on Friday, March 11. The official selection show is tabbed for Sunday evening at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com. Full details can be found on cneagles.com and on social media by following @CN_Eagles on Twitter.
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