MARS HILL, N.C.- Carson-Newman women's basketball (14-8, 9-3) could not overcome its offensive struggles, falling to the Mars Hill Lions (7-14, 3-10) on the road, 69-64.
"I thought we had some good moments in the first half, Head Coach Mike Mincey said. "We had a 32-24 lead and then we started to turn the ball over. That's where we started to unravel. A lot of credit goes to Mars Hill, when you lose your leading scorer and a player like Jo Snow for the second half, that was a big blow. Their kids stepped up and it's their third straight game they've won. They outplayed us and we just didn't make very many shots in the second half."
The loss for Carson-Newman is the first against Mars Hill since 2016. It's just the fourth loss to the Lions under Mincey.
The two teams went back and forth through most of the first quarter, but C-N scored six of the final 11 points to secure a 21-19 lead.
The Eagles carried that momentum into the second, scoring 11 of the first 16 points. Mars Hill had an answer, going on a 9-0 scoring run to regain the lead at 33-32 with 2:23 left in the first half. The two teams traded baskets to close the half, but it was an Ana Baptista layup as the buzzer sounds that gave the Lions the two-point advantage at the half. In the closing seconds of the half, leading scorer Jo Snow left the game with an injury and did not return.
Mars Hill was able to build on their halftime lead. Naja Ngongba scored a layup to increase the Lions lead to seven halfway through the third quarter. An Emily Gonzalez (Lenoir City, Tenn.) layup in the closing seconds of the quarter brought C-N back to within five, heading into the final quarter. The Eagles only managed five field goals in the period, three of which came from junior Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.).
Offensive woes continued into the fourth quarter, as neither team scored in the first two minutes of the 4th. The Eagles had several chances to tie or take the lead in the 4th quarter but could not get over the hump. It was a one possession game on six different occasions in the final six minutes of the game. C-N's best chance came in the final 23 seconds. Wykle drew a shooting foul, but could only convert on one free throw, forcing C-N to foul. Janette Hanni made both free throws to increase the Lions lead to four. The Eagles had one final chance to tie the game with eight seconds left, Sophomore Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) attempted a three-point shot from the corner but could not knock it down. Mars Hill led the entire second half, en route to its third consecutive win.
Wykle finished with a game-high 31 points. She was an efficient 11-20 from the field and 7-10 from three-point range. It was her eighth career 30 plus point game and third in the last seven games.
No other Eagle scored more than six points. All nine players that played, scored for C-N.
Harli Smith (Jamestown, Tenn.) led the Eagles in rebounds (9) and assists (5).
C-N forced 19 Mars Hill turnovers, but only managed to score 11 points off those turnovers. The Lions forced 15 turnovers and scored 18 points off them.
The Lady Eagles return to the floor on Saturday inside Holt Fieldhouse for a matchup with the Anderson Trojans.
Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and cneagles.com/live starting at 1:45 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network.
