VIDEO: Emily Gonzalez Interview
EMORY, VA. – Breaking the program record for steals in a game, Carson-Newman (13-5, 7-3 SAC) erupted for 38 third quarter points, more than it had in the other three quarters combined to down Emory & Henry (8-10, 3-7 SAC) 74-62 on Wednesday night inside the King Center.
"I didn't have some fiery speech at halftime," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said jokingly. "I think fatigue played a factor in that third quarter. We got steals, defensive rebounds and were able to push the ball down the floor. We got Lindsey (Taylor) going inside and that was huge. Three quarters of basketball for us was horrible, but the third quarter was really good and it showed by scoring 38 points."
Last time these two ball clubs met, Carson-Newman tied its single-game record for steals in a game with 24. Tonight, the Lady Eagles broke that record and then some, stealing the ball from the Wasps 29 times in a 12-point victory on the road.
The Lady Eagles defense created havoc most of the night, forcing a season-high 36 turnovers and matched their season-high scoring 36 points off of those turnovers. It's the most turnovers forced since C-N forced 37 against Johnson on November 30th, 2016.
C-N has won three straight games and consecutive road games for the first time since late January of last season. All seven of Carson-Newman's wins in SAC play are by double-digits and 11 of the 13 wins are as well.
Carson-Newman got off to a good start against E&H's zone defense. Tori Rutherford buried a triple on the first possession of the game and Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) followed a minute later with two free throws to put C-N up by five early. Offense would turn out to be hard to come by. The Lady Eagles didn't make a basket for the next four minutes and Emory & Henry scored 12 points during that stretch to lead by seven after the first quarter.
The Lady Eagles responded well in the second quarter. Despite the offensive woes, C-N started the second on an 8-0 scoring run to go up by 1 with five minutes until halftime. The defense kept E&H off the board for the first six minutes of the period, but the Wasps eventually broke the drought and scored six straight points to go up by five with 2:54 left until the half. Skylar Boshears (LaFollette, Tenn.) scored five of C-N's final seven points to tie the game at 27 at halftime.
Mincey's team came out of the locker room on a mission. After only making eight baskets in the entire first half, the Lady Eagles scored eight baskets in the first five minutes of the half and stormed ahead by nine points. It was the defense that led to so many baskets early and in continued throughout the third quarter. Back-to-back turnovers forced by Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) and Emily Gonzalez (Lenoir City, Tenn.) led to layups and the lead grew to 14 with 4:43 to go in the third. Two Chelsi Hodges free throws were sandwiched in between 7-0 and 10-0 bursts to go up 62-38. During the 17-2 scoring run, Gonzalez and Taylor combined to score 16 of those 17 points. Seven E&H turnovers turned into C-N points during the run.
The Lady Eagles finished the third quarter with 38 points on 17-24 shooting from the field and forced 13 turnovers to outscore E&H by 19 points. In the other three quarters, C-N was 11-55 from the field and scored 36 points.
A Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) three-pointer gave C-N its largest lead of the game at 24 points three minutes into the fourth quarter. The Lady Eagles only made one basket the rest of the way, as the Wasps outscored C-N 14-2 in the final six minutes of the contest.
After not attempting a shot in the first half, Taylor went eight of ten from the field and scored 17 third quarter points to finish with a game-high 22 points. She has scored double-digits in seven straight games and has five 20 plus point games during this stretch.
While no other Lady Eagle scored in double-figures, several left their imprint on the game. Makayla Alvey (Dandridge, Tenn.) had eight points and a team-high ten rebounds and stole the ball four times. Gonzalez made the most of her minutes on the floor, tying her career-high with eight points and six steals which came during the third quarter eruption.
"I am very proud of Emily," Mincey said. "She did not touch the floor at Wingate. Today, she comes in doesn't pout and brought her game and played really well."
"I'm always trying to help the team in any way I can," Gonzalez said. "It doesn't matter if its on the bench or on the floor. I didn't play against Wingate, but that didn't stop me from being a good teammate, that's my number one priority. Everything will work out the way that it needs to work out."
Rutherford joined Gonzalez with a team-high six steals. Keeleigh Rogers had four points, four assists and four steals off the bench. Boshears finished with nine points and three steals. Penland recorded a team-high six assists and also had three steals.
Carson-Newman is back home on Saturday for a matchup with Coker. Tipoff from Holt Fieldhouse is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. 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.
