JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (11-5, 8-2 South Atlantic Conference) women's basketball team defeated the Coker Cobras (8-6, 6-4 South Atlantic Conference) by a score of 74-56 at Holt Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Eagles never trailed in the contest, and the win ensures that Carson-Newman will still be in sole possession of first place in the SAC standings at 8-2 in conference games.

"I think the kids really had a good mindset from tip-off," said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. "I thought our energy, our press was really good early and created some turnovers and we scored the basketball and I think that really set the tone for how the game was played."

Carson-Newman was led in scoring for the fifth time this season by senior Chante' Markus (Hummelstown, Pa.) with her 15 points. She was joined in double-figures by freshman Kaitlyn Cupples (Clinton, Tenn.) who scored 12 points to go along with her seven rebounds and five blocks.

"We've had conversations with Kaitlyn about becoming more tough and she really wants to do a good job for us around the basket," Mincey said. "I thought she really competed hard today, and I've talked to her about becoming more of an 'animal' out there and I thought she did a really good job going up against what is a physical and pretty good basketball team in Coker."

The Lady Eagles began the game on a 10-3 run and never looked back, building a first half lead that reached as high as 19 points with 3:22 left before halftime.

Carson-Newman shot 52 percent from the field in the first half, and the Lady Eagles led Coker 43-31 after a strong run by the Cobras to end the half.

Coker would get to within 10 points f the Lady Eagles midway through the second half, yet Carson-Newman responded and put the game away. Carson-Newman's strongest stretch was a 13-6 run that gave the Lady Eagles a 68-49 lead with 8:46 remaining.

Despite Carson-Newman shooting 26 percent from the field in the second half, the Lady Eagles helped run down the clock and pulled off the season sweep against Coker by winning 74-56.

This is the second SAC opponent that Carson-Newman has swept this season, having already defeated Mars Hill twice in 2013-14.

Coker was led by the 14 points of Jessica Cohen, and she was joined in double-figures by Kelley Godbout's 11 points.

Carson-Newman will next play on the road at Tusculum on Wednesday night, with tip-off set for 6 p.m.

Wednesday's game will be carried on the Eagle Sports Network's flagship station WPFT-FM 106.3 FM, with coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m. with "The Countdown to Tipoff," and live audio is also available on www.cneagles.com.