VIDEO: Kayla Marosites Interview
SALISBURY, N.C. – Kelci Marosites converted the game-tying foul shot at the end of regulation and Kayla Marosites had a shot block and game-winning free throw in overtime to knock 19th-ranked Catawba from the undefeated ranks in a 69-68 Carson-Newman overtime win at Goodman Gym Saturday.
The Lady Eagles had been 4-4 in the last nine years in overtime games winning their first in 113 games and 1,427 days when it outlasted No. 17 Anderson on Feb. 10, 2016 81-79. C-N had lost three straight road overtime games since a 97-91 win at Lincoln Memorial on Feb. 23, 2011.
"Give a lot of credit to our players," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "It wasn't our best game. It wasn't our cleanest game obviously looking at the stats with the turnovers. In a game like this on their floor, they are 10-0 with a great crowd. I am proud of how we executed down the stretch. The game could have went either way but I am very fortunate that our kids made that one extra play to get us that 'W' in overtime."
Saturday was the fourth time in 69 meetings that Carson-Newman (8-4, 4-2) and Catawba (10-1, 5-1) had played an overtime affair with the only other win for the Orange and Blue coming on Jan. 24, 1998, a 90-77 victory at Holt Fieldhouse.
Mincey's squad stretched their winning streak over the Indians to seven games failing to score at least 80 for the first time in that time. Catawba was off to its best start in program history and one of the eight remaining undefeated teams in the nation entering the contest.
7⃣ straight wins over Catawba
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) January 4, 2020
✅ OT win
✅ Knock the Indians from the undefeated ranks
✅ @KaylaMarosites double-double@CNwbasketball starts a new decade with a win. pic.twitter.com/RiQIZt6mGW
The Indians led by as many as six, its largest lead of the day, in the fourth quarter. With 2:33 to go Braelyn Wykle hit a drive layup to tie the game at 55. Following a Catawba layup, Harli Smith (Jamestown, Tenn.) gave the visitors a one-point lead with an old fashioned three-point play. After trading two foul shots apiece, Talia Barnes tallied an offensive rebound putback to make it a 61-60 Catawba lead with 1:03 to go.
The Lady Eagles turned the ball over with 31.9 seconds to go. Shemya Stanbeck caught an inbounds pass in the backcourt, was a trapped and travelled to give the ball back to C-N. Kelci Marosites (Elizabethton, Tenn.) drew a hand checking foul and made one of two at the line. The Indians missed two shots in the final seconds to send the game to overtime.
Catawba scored the first five points of the extra session before Kayla Marosites canned a three from the left wing with 2:56 on the clock. Addison Byrd (Nashville, Tenn.) tied the score on the next possession before Lyrik Thorne made two foul shots with 1:49 to go for the final points of the game by the Indians.
Byrd tied the score with 49 seconds to go. Thorne put up a triple from the left wing that was blocked by Kayla Marosites with 21 seconds to play. She drew a foul after a time out and made one of two with 11.8 seconds on the clock to make it a 69-68 game.
Stanbeck missed a jumper from the left elbow in the waning seconds before getting her own miss. With the ball in her hands the horn sounded to cap the upset.
UNBEATEN NO MORE!!!
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) January 4, 2020
C-N hands #19 Catawba its first loss of the season. @KaylaMarosites hits the game-winning free throw, then the Eagles get a stop on the defensive end.
�� @CNwbasketball 69
���� @catawbawbb 68
FINAL OT pic.twitter.com/9sdRdIsb6x
"I knew these last minutes would win the game," Marosites said. "I wanted to make smart plays and get my teammates involved. I wanted to play defense because stops are what win the game. Mistakes happen and I wasn't happy about it but I knew that to win this game I had to let that go and keep playing."
The two teams entered as two of the top 13 scoring teams in the nation but the teams battled with Catawba being limited to 30 percent shooting from the field and C-N turning the ball over a season-high 26 times. Despite the giveaways, the Indians produced just 16 points after entering the game averaging 27 points off of turnovers.
"I think both teams were really tired out of the press and tired in the half court especially in the second half," Mincey said. "That is going to affect your shot making ability. I don't think that we were able to wear each other out. It was a battle of attrition so to speak. We battled each other and it was a heavyweight. We are lucky to come out on the winning end."
The Indians ended up leading for 28 minutes of the game with Carson-Newman's 13:18 of lead time coming largely at the end of the first quarter and the entirety of the second.
Kayla Marosites notched her 10th double-double of the season with game highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes. She was one of three double figure scorers. Byrd added 11 points and eight boards and Smith tallied 10 points and six caroms.
Taisha DeShazo led the Indians with 16 points, six rebounds and four steals but produced four points in the final 25 minutes of the game. Madison Hallman finished with 13 points, seven boards and five assists.
Catawba went 15-for-26 at the free-throw line and took 14 more shots than C-N in the game but the Lady Eagles were plus-three at the line and plus-six on the glass.
The Lady Eagles get back on the bus for a second straight road trip on Wednesday when they face off against Lenoir-Rhyne at 5:30 p.m. Broadcast coverage starts on the Eagle Sports Network at 5:15 with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" on 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and cneagles.com/live.
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