VIDEO: Braelyn Wykle Interview
AIKEN, S.C. – Lindsey Taylor and Braelyn Wykle combined for 45 points to anchor ninth-ranked Carson-Newman's 79-70 victory over No. 10 Lander in the 2022-23 season opener at the Convocation Center.
"It wasn't pretty," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "The only thing really good that came out of this game was that we won the game. You never want to take anything away from an opponent but Lander lost players and was short-handed today. I thought we had a chance in the second quarter to put our foot down on the gas and get that separation that we need. We shot 55 percent from the field but we missed a ton of shots around the rim. If we are going to win a bunch of games, they have to go down."
Wykle registered her 44th career 20-point scoring effort leading all players with 27 points going 12-for-17 from the field in 34 minutes. Taylor went 7-for-11 from the field and scored 14 of her 18 points after halftime.
"When it comes down to it, it's about winning the game especially at the end of the game.," Wykle said. "I am looking at the stats and the first thing that I see is six turnovers and that's not good as a leader. It sends out the wrong message. Hopefully I'll do better at that going forward."
Carson-Newman (1-0) improves to 33-12 all-time in season openers while moving to 5-5 against top 10 teams in the history of the program. The team had dropped three straight against top 25 club winning for the first time since Jan. 12, 2022 at No. 21 Catawba. The Lady Eagles are 2-5 in neutral matchups with nationally-ranked foes with both wins coming against Lander (0-1) at Aiken.
Saturday was the eighth time that C-N played a matchup where both teams were ranked improving to 5-3 in those games. The club moves its record to 61-1 when shooting at least 50 percent under Mincey after making 55 percent of its attempts against the Bearcats.
Forcing 22 turnovers, the Lady Eagles turned that into 29 points and scored 54 points in the paint adding a 12-for-13 effort from the free-throw line. Keeleigh Rogers (Knoxville, Tenn.) drained the team's lone three-pointer in the fourth quarter running the team's streak to 319 straight games with at least one.
�� Toasty shooting
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) November 12, 2022
�� Consistent scoring
�� @19LindseyTaylor dominating the post
�� Top 10 win for @CNwbasketball to start the year pic.twitter.com/BuzknS5W7y
Makayla Alvey (Dandridge, Tenn.) stuffed the stat sheet with six points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists. Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) tossed in eight points, six boards and four assists. All nine players that hit the floor scored at least two points.
Both lead changes in the game came in the first three possessions before a 6-0 surge pushed C-N ahead 12-5. After a hot start, both teams failed to score over a three-minute period in the first quarter with the Lady Eagles closing the period on a 17-4 run to swell the margin to 23-9.
Scoring the first four points of the second, the margin stretched to a game-high 18 points at 27-9 with 9:08 to go before halftime. It stayed at double figures before a 7-0 scoring run inched the Bearcats within six at 34-28 with 1:40 remaining. C-N scored the final four and went into the locker room ahead 38-28.
Mincey's crew pushed the bulge out to 15 at 50-35 less than four minutes into the third quarter but Lander trimmed the deficit to six again at 56-50. Over the final 1:25, C-N used a 6-0 run to get the lead back to a dozen entering the fourth.
The margin hovered around double figures in the final period with Lander going 10-for-12 at the free-throw line versus C-N making 58 percent from the field to keep the score within single digits.
Five Bearcats finished in double figures led by 18 points from Quadaija Langley adding three assists and two steals. Vashae Rideout finished with 14 points, Cory Santoro had 13, Tyasisa Freeman posted 11 points and nine boards and Tanyia Gordon added 10 points and seven caroms.
The Lady Eagles get a quick turnaround on Sunday at 3 p.m. against USC Aiken. Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and cneagles.com/live starting at 2:45 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off".
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