VIDEO: Taylor Goforth Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Coach Mike Mincey became the seventh coach in South Atlantic Conference history to win 100 conference contests as Carson-Newman crushed Mars Hill 109-49 Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse breaking the league record for triples in the process.
"You are going to win a lot of games with great players," Mincey said. "If you don't have good players you aren't going to win games. Coaches have some say but I have been very fortunate to have a lot of good local talent that decided to come here. We are stock full of them right now with them all being Tennessee players. I've been blessed to typically have more talent than my opponent. I am very thankful for all of those that have been a part of the 100 SAC wins."
Mincey joins six other coaches in the triple-digit club in his eighth campaign. Eddie Carter is the program's leader in conference victories with 107 over his 14 years with the Lady Eagles, 12 of which were as a member of the SAC.
Anderson held the league record for two weeks as Carson-Newman (17-5, 10-4) connected on 21 three-pointers in the game tying Southeastern Oklahoma for the second-most made triples in a Division II game this year.
Haris Price (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) finished the game with 28 points to move past Mandy Mendenhall (2008-11) and assistant coach Tatum Burstrom (2012-16) into 10th on the school's scoring list with 1,240 points. The senior made a career-high six triples to pass Mendenhall for seventh on the program's ledger in the category bringing her tally to 123. She went 10-for-15 from the floor adding six assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals.
The Lady Eagles began the game on a 16-0 run as Brooke Vilcinskas scored the first points of the game for the Lions with 6:25 to go in the opening period. A 10-0 burst made it 29-7 with two minutes to play. Despite missing seven straight shots from the floor, Kelci Marosites (Elizabethton, Tenn.) drained a right-wing triple to post the highest scoring quarter of the year to make it 34-11 after 10 minutes.
C-N made 10 of its first 15 shots from the field before making four of its next 21 as Mars Hill closed the gap to 20 points at 49-29 with under a minute to play in the half after a 6-0 run. Three-pointers from Kelci Marosites and Madison Bunch (Morristown, Tenn.) swelled the bulge to 26 at 55-29 at the break.
The 55-point half was the highest scoring first half of the year for Mincey's crew as 28 of the team's 47 field-goal attempts came from beyond the arc.
Much like the start of the game, C-N started the second quarter on a 12-0 run stretching the lead to 67-29 over the first three minutes as the team made six of their first seven shots. The team closed the quarter on a 9-0 jolt to push the differential to 87-39 after outscoring the Lions 32-10 in the period.
Abby Wilson (Kingston, Tenn.) set the SAC record with a right-wing three-pointer in transition making it a 99-47 contest with 7:22 to go in the game. The Lions failed to score over the final 6:18 as the Lady Eagles posted the final 10 points of the game.
"Mincey told us we were 10 away at halftime," Wilson said. "I was counting down on the bench. I had the lane wide open but to break the record it was awesome. I took the shot and I like that shot so I took it."
Anyone for breakign a record? The Eagles have drained 2️⃣1️⃣ three pointers! @abby22wilson making her presence known today with seven points!
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 7, 2019
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Kayla Marosites ended a two-game double-double drought by points 16 points and 11 boards over 24 minutes adding four steals and three assists.
Addison Byrd (Nashville, Tenn.) produced 17 points going 7-for-10 from the field with seven rebounds and Briana Smith (Nasvhille, Tenn.) added 11 points.
Mariah Johnson led the Lions with 21 points going 11-for-13 at the charity strip adding five assists and four rebounds but she committed 10 turnovers.
The Lady Eagles are back inside of the friendly confines Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when the Coker Cobras come to Mossy Creek. The Eagle Sports Network will have all of the coverage for the contests on the usual outlets.
✅ SAC record for three-pointers
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 7, 2019
✅ 100 SAC wins for @MikeMincey ✅ First 100-point game of the year
✅ 6⃣ straight wins over @mhulions by @CNwbasketball pic.twitter.com/Cco9IEBI0j
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