HICKORY, N.C. – For the first time since 2018, Lenoir-Rhyne (12-4, 7-1 SAC) defeated Carson-Newman (10-5, 4-3 SAC) thanks to a defensive-minded second half that helped secure a 62-60 victory on Saturday afternoon inside Shuford Arena.
Carson-Newman was held to a season-low 21 second-half points and made just eight shots after halftime.
"It was a little bit of everything in the second half," Carson-Newman women's basketball head coach Mike Mincey said. "We know what the problems are, we just haven't seemed able to fix them. We had some decent looks. I thought our offensive execution in the first half was good because we saw the ball go in the bucket. The second half was not as crisp. We were looking for anybody and everybody that could make a shot."
The win for the Bears snapped an eight-game skid against the Lady Eagles.
Despite struggling from the field early on, Carson-Newman made four early free throws to lead 13-10 with 3:43 to go in the first quarter. The Lady Eagles defense clicked into another gear from there on and held LR without a field goal and just two points the rest of the 1st. C-N took advantage and scored nine points during that stretch and led by ten.
The Bears began the second quarter well, scoring the first six points of the period to draw within three. C-N answered back though with a 10-0 scoring run in the next 2 and a half minutes to lead by 11 with four and a half minutes left until halftime. Braelyn Wykle's (Greeneville, Tenn.) third triple of the opening half extended the Lady Eagles lead to 14, just one minute later. C-N maintained that double-digit lead and led by 11 at the break.
LR came out of the gates red-hot from the field and began the third quarter on an 11-2 scoring run to cut the C-N lead to just three points. The Bears gained their first lead of the game after a pair of Jalen Gathers free throws with 1:40 left in the third quarter. That lead didn't last, and Carson-Newman finished the quarter with five straight points to lead by 3.
Wykle made a jump shot 50 seconds into the 4th to give C-N a 7-0 run from the end of the third into the fourth. 2 made free throws and a Blaikley Crooks basket brought the Bears within 1 with 6:14 left. It took three minutes for either team to get back in the scoring column, as Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) drilled a jump shot to put C-N back up by 1 with 3:22 to go.
Neither side made a field goal the rest of the way, but LR made six free throws to C-N's one. Down three with 18 seconds to go, the Lady Eagles had three shots to tie or cut into the lead but came up empty down the stretch. Carson-Newman had seven missed shots and three turnovers in the final three minutes of the game.
The Lady Eagles shot 8 for 29 from the field after halftime and made just two baskets in the fourth quarter. LR only made one bucket in the fourth quarter but made up for it at the free throw line where it was 8-12.
Wykle finished the contest with a game-high 21 points and nailed all five of Carson-Newman's three-pointers. Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) finished with ten points and nine rebounds.
Crooks paced the Bears with 19 points and nine rebounds. Tilda Lindstrom made 13 points and made three triples, all of which were in the second half.
Carson-Newman will look to regroup when it returns home on Wednesday for a matchup with UVA Wise. Tipoff from Holt Fieldhouse is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. 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.
