JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – While it may have not been the prettiest of victories, Carson-Newman (8-2) found a way to hold off a stingy Saginaw Valley State (3-8) this afternoon inside of Holt Fieldhouse winning 57-51.
"I don't know how Saginaw Valley feels about their performance, but we played terrible," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "It's better to learn from a win rather than losing. Some of the stuff that we are doing is just not up to the standards and capabilities are. We followed up with what we did at Anderson and did it for the whole time this game."
The victory keeps the Lady Eagles unbeaten at home this season, now 6-0. Mincey coached teams are now 134-37 all-time inside Holt Fieldhouse.
The first quarter saw both teams trade baskets often, but C-N scored the final five points and led by three after one. The first ten minutes saw six lead changes and four ties. After SVSU grabbed a 13-11 lead, C-N never let the Cardinals snatch it back.
The beginning of the second quarter belonged to Skylar Boshears (LaFollete, Tenn.). The senior scored the team's first ten points of the second and led 26-21 with 4:38 to go until halftime. Braelyn Wykle's second basket of the game gave C-N its largest lead of the half with 1:43 to go, but four straight points by SVSU made it a three-point game at intermission. The Lady Eagles have led at halftime in all ten of their games this season.
The Lady Eagles used a long scoring run to create their largest lead of the game. It was an 8-0 scoring run that spanned nearly four minutes to lead by nine. SVSU had a response, scoring the next five points to claw back within four with three minutes to go in the 3rd. After a couple made baskets, C-N increased the mark to six by the end of the quarter.
Offense continued to be a struggle for both teams. Aleisha Jones made the first basket of the quarter, and it came nearly two minutes in. C-N's first basket of the period came at the 6:28 mark on a Makayla Alvey (Dandridge, Tenn.) layup. Luckily, the Cardinals did not make their next field goal until 4:53 to go and that brought them within three. But once again, Carson-Newman swelled the lead back up to eight points thanks to four straight points from Wykle and a Keeleigh Rogers (Farragut, Tenn.) free throw to make it 54-46 with two minutes to play. SVSU's Emma Dziezgowski answered with a three-pointer, but C-N clamped down defensively and made its free throws in the final 90 seconds to hold on for a 57-51 home victory.
C-N's defense held SVSU to just 20 second half points, the least its given up in the second half of a game this season.
For the first time this season and third time in her C-N career, Boshears led the Lady Eagles in scoring with a season-high 15 points on an efficient six for nine shooting. The double-figure performance was her fourth this season.
"When she (Skylar) goes into another gear, on both ends of the floor, she is certainly a special player" Mincey said. "You saw it a couple of times today and against Anderson. When she put to her mind to go score, she has those tools. Now we have to get her to do it all the time. She is a phenomenal offensive basketball player when she wants to be and we just have to find a way to get more out of her."
Wykle finished the game with 14 points on five of 14 shooting. She is now 8 points away from becoming the school's all-time leading scorer. Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) also finished in double-figures with 11 points, making five field goals.
Off the bench, Alvey led C-N with six rebounds and tied her career-high with six assists, along with five points. Rogers pitched in five points off the bench and recorded a team-high three steals.
For the second straight game, Carson-Newman lost the rebounding battle, losing 43-34 and 11-7 in offensive boards. Both teams shot below 40%, only made three, three-point baskets, and went 8-14 from the free throw line.
The Lady Eagles defense forced 22 Cardinal turnovers and were able to score 25 points off those mistakes. While C-N did turn it over 18 times, it only allowed SVSU to score 14 points off them.
Aleisha Jones led the way for SVSU with 14 points on five of 13 shooting. Dziezgowksi added 10 points.
Carson-Newman breaks for Christmas, getting the next eleven days off, before returning to the court on Dec. 30th in a road matchup with Glenville State. Tipoff from the Waco Center is set for 12:00 p.m. Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and cneagles.com/live starting at 11:45 a.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network.
