VIDEO: Skylar Boshears Interview
HARROGATE, Tenn. – Trailing by five with two minutes to go in the first half, Carson-Newman held Lincoln Memorial to two points in the next 12 minutes using a 26-2 run to build a 19-point lead before winning 59-45 for its fourth South Atlantic Conference win in a row Saturday at Tex Turner Arena.
"Fatigue is always going to play a role because we are both pressing," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "It was a great offensive half of basketball either way and felt lucky to only be down one. In the second half, our offensive execution was much better. I don't know how good our defense was. They missed a ton of shots. We get a little bit of credit for that. That third quarter we functioned much better in the half court and in transition. That was clearly the difference in the game."
Carson-Newman (9-6, 4-2) has won six of the last eight meetings with Lincoln Memorial (8-5, 3-3) including a second visit in a row to Harrogate, the second time under Mincey that the group has accomplished that.
The Lady Eagles' streak of 322 games with a three-pointer was snapped as the group went 0-for-11 from deep. It was the first time since Nov. 26, 2011 against Delta State, also a win, that the team failed to connect from deep. Forty-two of C-N's 59 points in the game came in the paint as the unit went 23-for-43 from inside of the arc.
Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) recorded the fifth 20-point game of her junior season scoring 16 after halftime going 7-for-14 for the game adding seven rebounds and two assists.
Skylar Boshears (Lafollette, Tenn.) recorded the first double-double of her career posting 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. The junior went 5-for-8 from the field and added a block and a steal.
"I'm really focusing in on locking in on the defensive side as well as the offensive side," Boshears said. "I am trying to crash the boards to get offensive rebounds and also defensive rebounds. I feel like that has helped my offense."
The Lady Eagles won the battle on the glass 43-28 allowing only five offensive rebounds in the game. Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) chipped in seven points and eight boards and Keeleigh Rogers (Knoxville, Tenn.) added six points and six caroms.
�� Strong defense
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) January 7, 2023
�� Big third quarter
2️⃣ straight wins in Knoxville
�� Game-high 20 points by @B_Wykle
4️⃣ SAC wins in a row for @CNwbasketball pic.twitter.com/giXY9djJdv
After scoring the first points of the game, C-N did not lead the rest of the half opening the game 3-for-10 from the field. Despite making their final four shots of the half, the Lady Eagles trailed 19-15 after the opening 10 minutes.
Jordan Maney drilled a triple two minutes into the second quarter to stretch the bulge to a half-high seven at 22-15. The home group went the next 2:57 without points allowing the Lady Eagles to score seven straight to tie the score at 22. LMU scored the next five before C-N tallied the final four of the opening 20 minutes to go into halftime down 27-26.
Carson-Newman scored the opening 12 points of the second half and outscored the Railsplitters 20-2 in the third period to go on top 46-29 going to the final period. LMU made one of its 12 shot attempts in the frame and turned the ball over four times.
In the fourth, the Railsplitters used a 9-0 run to trim the margin to 10 twice including with 3:34 to go in the game but C-N closed it out at the line making seven of 10 despite going six minutes without a field goal.
After starting 8-for-16 from the floor, Lincoln Memorial made 10 of its final 38 shot attempts in the game including a stretch where it went 2-for-16. The group went 4-for-14 from the charity stripe in the game.
Alexa Smiddy scored 12 of her team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter adding four assists and three rebounds for the game. Saquita Joyner racked up 10 points in the first frame but finished with 14 for the game on six of 10 shooting.
The Lady Eagles return to the friendly confines on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. against Tusculum. Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and cneagles.com/live starting at 5:15 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network.
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