JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (14-11, 11-8 South Atlantic Conference) women's basketball team defeated the Anderson Trojans (13-12, 9-10 South Atlantic Conference) by a final score of 89-80 in overtime at Holt Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening.

After Anderson finished the second half on a 7-2 run to send the game to overtime tied at 76, Carson-Newman shot well in the extra period, outscoring Anderson 13-4 in overtime to earn its second straight victory and snap a three-game losing streak in the series with Anderson.

"I'm very proud of the way we performed tonight," said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. "I was certainly happy with the way we came out, I thought we defended okay but more importantly I was really excited with how we put the ball in the basket. That's something we've been struggling with through these last seven ballgames. So to score 45 in the first half was nice, they are a hard team to guard so to hold them to 35 points to have a 10-point lead at the half was really exciting."

Carson-Newman was led in scoring by the 17 points of sophomore Jai Jai McLaughlin (Knoxville, Tenn.), as she proved key for the Lady Eagles down the stretch by going 8-for-10 at the free throw line. McLaughlin was joined in double figures by three other Lady Eagles. Sophomore Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) scored 12 points in the first half and finished with 15 for the game as she hit a pair of 3-pointers. Junior Lashawnda Peacher (Springfield, Tenn.) scored double-digit points for the second time in three days with 14 points including going 10-for-12 at the charity stripe. Freshman Kaitlyn Cupples (Clinton, Tenn.) scored 10 points as she hit double-digits for the third straight contest.

Carson-Newman never trailed in regulation, as the Lady Eagles began the contest on a 14-2 run. The Lady Eagles' lead would never get below six points in the first half, as Carson-Newman shot a first half season high of 64 percent from the field, going 16-for-25.

The hot shooting didn't carry over into the second half, as Carson-Newman would go 8-for-31 from the field in the second period (25 percent). Anderson got back into the contest by shooting 38 percent in the second half, yet Carson-Newman still led 74-69 with 3:25 t play.

The Trojans climbed back with a layup by Jasmine Franklin before a 2-for-2 trip to the line for Heather Jankowy. After Lacy Miller grew the lead to 76-73 with a pair of free throws, Anderson tied the contest with a 3-pointer by Lesley Woods with 44 seconds remaining. McLaughlin missed two jumpers in the final five seconds of regulation, as Carson-Newman was forced to play overtime for the first time in the 2013-14 season.

Anderson grabbed its first lead of the game in overtime thanks to a Woods layup. Carson-Newman answered to tie the game at 78 with a layup from Cupples, then Peacher went 1-for-2 at the free throw line to give Carson-Newman an 80-79 lead with 3:04 to play in overtime.

Senior Chante' Markus (Hummelstown, Pa.) hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Lady Eagles an 83-79 lead with 2:40 to play, and that's as close as the Trojans would get in the final minutes. Carson-Newman added a layup by McLaughlin then hit free throws in the final moments to grow the lead to 89-80, which would be the final.

The win ends a three-games in a five-day stretch for the Lady Eagles, who now enter Saturday's play on a two-game winning streak.

Carson-Newman will play its final regular season home game by hosting Queens at Holt Fieldhouse at 2 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.