VIDEO: Braelyn Wykle Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Braelyn Wykle scored a career-high 44 points setting the school record for three-pointers while passing 2,000 career points to lead Carson-Newman back into the win column in South Atlantic Conference play with an 81-75 victory over Anderson on Saturday at Holt Fieldhouse.
"We got beat at Mars Hill on the road," Wykle said. "In my mind that can't happen. We came out here and reset. The amount of confidence this program has instilled in me has been amazing. I love it here. I love the coaches, the people I've played with. The support that we have is just incredible. We always have a good showing especially at home."
The Greeneville, Tenn. native joined Lisa Stogner (1980-84) as the only two players in school history to score 2,000 points for a career becoming the sixth SAC player, the first since 2011, and sixth active Division II player to crest the mark for a career.
She ranks fourth in SAC history in converted triples. Among active Division II players, Wykle is 21st player among all three divisions to score 2,000 points with 15 being at the top level. She has the eighth-most trifectas among active Division II athletes.
The guard became the 15th player in league history to score at least 40 points in a game and the first Lady Eagle since Haris Price had 44 at Lenoir-Rhyne on Feb. 2, 2019, a span 116 games and 1,480 days ago. The 44 points were three shy of both the SAC and school record while it was good for the fourth-most by a Division II player for the year.
Overall, the junior went 14-for-25 from the field going 7-for-13 from the charity strip and sinking all nine foul shots. It was the fifth time in her career that she drilled a program-record tying seven triples.
�� Career Day and record-breaking performance for @B_Wykle
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 11, 2023
�� @CNwbasketball back in the win column pic.twitter.com/fVEZkVyybD
Carson-Newman (15-8, 10-3) snapped a two-game SAC losing streak, the longest in three years, while running its winning streak over Anderson (13-11, 7-7) to six games in a row, the longest by either team in the series.
"Anderson is a good team," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "They have a lot of size. They kept trying to creep back into the game. Instead of us folding on the offensive end, you can't rely on one player. In that second half, those two threes by Campbell, Keeleigh hit a jumper, Skylar made a shot. We needed every one of them today. I'm glad we could get back on the winning track and not get to a three-game losing streak."
Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) was the only other C-N player to finish in double figures posting 13 points adding five rebounds. Keeleigh Rogers (Knoxville, Tenn.) chipped in nine points while matching a career high with 14 rebounds.
Despite missing its first six shots from the field, C-N was only down 4-2 four minutes into the game before the club erupted for a 10-0 scoring surge and building up a 25-14 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
The margin swelled to 14 before the Trojans cut into the deficit to make it a 37-28 contest midway through the second quarter. The Lady Eagles buried three trifectas down the stretch to push the margin to 12 at 46-34 at halftime.
Anderson scored seven of the first nine points of the second half trimming the tally to seven at 48-41 a little over three minutes into the third. The Trojans made three field goals the rest of the period as C-N took a 59-48 lead into the fourth.
A 12-2 run helped the Lady Eagles build up a 79-61 lead with 2:45 to play shooting 60 percent over the final 10 minutes. However, Anderson scored 11 unanswered and scored 14 of the final 16 points of the game to close within six.
The Trojans outrebounded the Orange and Blue 51-38 converting 23 offensive rebounds in 21 second-chance points. Diamond McDowell led the way with 17 points and 14 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season.
Ashlyn Sheridan posted 16 points and five boards, Brittney Bailey finished with 14 points and eight caroms and Brittney Stafford scored all 14 of her points in the final period adding six rebounds and six assists.
The Lady Eagles are back on the road on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. visiting 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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