HICKORY, N.C. – Lenoir-Rhyne surged out to an 18-2 lead and led for the entirety of the contest as Carson-Newman pulled within two points on four occasions in the final three minutes of the game and went without a point in the final 2:41 in a 59-52 Bears' victory Saturday afternoon at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.
Lenoir-Rhyne (9-13, 8-10 South Atlantic Conference) shot just 28 percent in the game but went 26-for-35 at the free-throw line. It is the first loss by Carson-Newman (16-8, 10-8 SAC) when holding a team to under 30 percent shooting since the NCAA Tournament on March 13, 2015, a 58-40 loss to Columbus State as the Cougars shot 29 percent.
"It was a really, really bad start," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "We just couldn't convert around the rim. It was a very physical game. Unfortunately we didn't get the better part of going to the free-throw line. In the second half, they did a good job doing what they could do to try to steal one playing as bad as we played. It certainly wasn't enough."
Lenoir-Rhyne started the game on an 18-2 run making 6 of its first 10 shots while Carson-Newman started 1 of 11 from the floor. The Lady Eagles finished a first quarter that saw the visiting group go 3-for-15 from the field on a 6-0 run to make it a 19-10 game.
The Bears scored the first four points of the second quarter before going on a scoring drought that lasted 5:47. The Lady Eagles used a 7-0 to pull within six points at 23-17 with the teams trading buckets before heading to the locker room with Lenoir-Rhyne ahead 27-21.
The 21 points in the first half were the fewest by C-N in a first half this season. The previous low was 22 at Anderson (S.C.) Jan. 21 in a 54-51 Carson-Newman victory.
Jasmine Stafford led all scorers with 11 points in the opening half as the Lady Eagles went 8-for-29, 28 percent, from the field in the initial 20 minutes of the contest.
Lenoir-Rhyne went just 4-for-18 from the field in the third quarter but extended its halftime advantage to 43-34 heading into the fourth quarter courtesy of making 7 of 9 foul shots.
Carson-Newman pulled within two points four times in the fourth quarter failing to convert a field-goal attempt in the final 3:34. The Lady Eagles held possession with 1:26 remaining as C-N used a timeout. A forced 15-foot jumper by junior guard Kailyn Brooks (Lafayette, Tenn.) was the best look the Lady Eagles could get as the Bears made 5 of 8 from the charity stripe to close out the game.
Senior guard Jai Jai McLaughlin (Knoxville, Tenn.) led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 13 points while redshirt-sophomore guard Katie Stubblefield (Alcoa, Tenn.) chipped in 11 points.
Stafford led all scorers in the game with 17 points. Shelly Harper went 1-for-10 from the floor but made 9 of 11 at the free-throw line to finish with 11 points and 17 rebounds while Brooke Robinson added 10 points and 12 boards.
Carson-Newman returns to Holt Fieldhouse Wednesday evening to face the team from south Tennessee, Tusculum, at 6 p.m. Broadcast coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on 106.3 WPFT-FM and cneagles.com/live with The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off on the Eagle Sports Network.
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