JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman women's basketball team used a stout defensive effort to cruise past King College, 79-46, on Tuesday night at Holt Fieldhouse for the program's 600th victory.

The Lady Eagles pressured the Tornado into 27 turnovers, scoring 29 points off those miscues, and held King to 30.9 percent shooting (17-of-55).

With the victory, C-N improves to 1-2 on the season and is now 600-343 all time, while King drops to 1-2.

The Lady Eagles were just as impressive on the offensive end as they shot 58.9 percent (33-of-56) from the floor and had 23 assists on their 33 made baskets. C-N did struggle to take care of the ball, however, committing 24 turnovers.

Senior guard Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) fired in 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting and tallied three assists and three steals to lead the Lady Eagles. Sophomore Dominique Jackson (North Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) chipped in 11 points, while sophomore Whitney Moody (Blountville, Tenn.) added 10 points and two steals. Freshman forward Shannon Depew (Newport, Tenn.) tossed in eight points and grabbed seven rebounds, and junior guard Megan Hunter (Ashland City, Tenn.) netted eight points and collected three steals in the win.

Senior Ashley Deans (Greeneville, Tenn.) poured in 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Tornado, while Derika Mooney (Athens, Tenn.) had six points, five rebounds and four steals.

King's Kalen Collins (Wise, Va.) sank a jumper on the game's opening possession to give the Tornado a 2-0 lead, but the Lady Eagles answered with an 8-0 run behind five points from Mendenhall to take the lead for good.

C-N grabbed its biggest lead of the first half with 3:48 remaining, as Depew knocked down a jumper to give the Lady Eagles a 32-13 cushion. The C-N defense allowed just three baskets from the 15:40 mark until Depew's jumper. The Lady Eagles took a 34-19 lead into the locker room.

Mendenhall drilled a 3-pointer to spark a 9-2 C-N run to open the second half, as the Lady Eagles built a 43-21 lead with 17:05 left. C-N then put the Tornado away by pushing its lead to as much as 34 points at 77-43 on a layup by Hunter with 1:46 remaining.

The Lady Eagles return to the hardwood on Friday in the Delta State Classic against No. 2 Delta State. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. in Cleveland, Miss.