JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (5-2, 3-0 South Atlantic Conference) women's basketball fell to the Lee Lady Flames (2-1) by a score of 82-66 at Holt Fieldhouse on Tuesday evening.

Despite trailing 47-30 at halftime, the Lady Eagles outscored the Lady Flames 36-35 in the second half as Carson-Newman fell to the team that was a NAIA Finalist a season ago.

"For us to come back and make some shots and create some turnovers, I was really proud of how we fought back to get within 14 points within three minutes to go," said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. "Give a lot of credit to Lee, when I scheduled the game I knew what we were getting into. They are not a good basketball team, they are a great basketball team. They're going to do really well at the Division II level."

Carson-Newman was led in scoring by senior Chante' Markus (Hummelstown, Pa.) as she tied a career-high by scoring 15 points, 12 of which came in the second half. She also hit four 3-pointers in the game, and another player who made four treys was freshman Kailyn Brooks (Lafayette, Tenn.) with her 14 points as she joined Markus in double-figures and also tied a career high for points in the game.

Lee opened the contest with an 11-2 run in the first two and a half minutes of the game, with most of the scoring done by Hollie German and Jenna Adams. After the Lady Eagles cut the Lady Flames lead to 34-28 with 3:47 left in the half, Lee closed out the first half on a 13-2 run to lead at the break 47-30.

The Lady Flames shot 55 percent from the field in the first half, making nine 9-pointers, seven of which from German and Adams.

Carson-Newman proved to be competitive in the second half, and after the Lady Flames led 70-45 with 7:07 to play, the Lady Eagles went on a 15-4 run over the next four minutes to cut Lee's lead to 74-60, mainly thanks to 3-pointers by Markus and Brooks.

The Lady Flames closed out the second half on an 8-6 run to leave Carson-Newman with a 16-point victory, with the loss featuring Carson-Newman's largest losing deficit of the regular season.

Lee saw three players score in double-figures, led by the 27 points of German as she posted the top individual scoring performance against Carson-Newman this season. Adams had a double-double with her 20 piints and 11 rebounds, and Myriah Iles added 10 points off the bench for the Lady Flames.

Carson-Newman's top two scorers entering the game, sophomores Tatum Burstom (Maryville, Tenn.) and Jai Jai McLaughlin (Knoxville, Tenn.) were held to a combined six points, as the duo combined to shoot 1-for-11 from the field.

The Lady Eagles will return to South Atlantic Conference play on Saturday, welcoming the Catawba Indians to Holt Fieldhouse at 2 p.m. as part of a hoops double-header at Mossy Creek, with the men's game following at 4 p.m.

Saturday's game will be carried on the Eagle Sports Network's flagship station WPFT-FM 106.3 FM, with coverage beginning at 1:45 p.m. with "The Countdown to Tipoff," and live video is also available on www.cneagles.com.