JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles basketball team finished out their exhibition schedule with an 82-52 loss to the East Tennessee State Lady Buccaneers in front of 2,570 fans at the ETSU/MSHA Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.  

The Lady Eagles were sparked in the second half by the three-point shooting of freshman Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) who led Carson-Newman with 14 points as she hit four three-pointers and three in the second half as the Lady Eagles posted their top point total in the three exhibitions.

Similar to last Sunday's loss at North Carolina, the Lady Eagles did not get off to a quick start offensively against the Bucs, as ETSU opened the game on a 24-4 run. Carson-Newman would shoot 16 percent from the field in the first half, and trailed at halftime 35-15.  

Burstrom shined off the bench for Carson-Newman in the second half. She connected on a trio of three-pointers in the second period, although the Lady Eagles couldn't cut the lead back to within 20 points. After a Carson-Newman run that cut the Lady Bucs' lead to 20 with 3:23 left in the game, ETSU finished the contest on a 11-1 run to win by thirty points. 

The Lady Eagles shot 28 percent from the field in the second half, and were only outscored 47-37 in the game's final 20 minutes. Carson-Newman finished the contest shooting 23 percent from the field, 23 percent from three, and the Lady Eagles connected on 65 percent of their free throws.

While Burstrom was the only Lady Eagle in double-digit scoring, Carson-Newman also saw freshman Jai Jai McLaughlin score 9 points with four rebounds, and the Lady Eagles were led in boards by Courdne Mies' eight rebounds. Junior Chante' Markus (Hummelstown, Pa.), who led Carson-Newman with 12 points against Tennessee on Thursday, scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds.

Destiny Mitchell led ETSU with 21 points and she collected the game's only double-double as she also grabbed 15 rebounds. The Lady Bucs also saw Brianna McQueen, Serena Clark, and Maria bond also score in double-digits in the first exhibition of the season for ETSU.

The loss finishes the exhibition schedule for Carson-Newman, and the Lady Eagles will play in their season opener on Friday Nov. 9 against Coker in the SAC-Conference of the Carolinas Challenge in Harrogate, Tenn.

Fans can listen to Friday's game against Coker on the Coca-Cola Eagle Sports Network, with coverage beginning with the Farm Bureau Countdown to Tipoff at 5:45 p.m. and the broadcast is also available www.cneagles.com.