HICKORY, N.C. – Carson-Newman shot 50 percent from the floor in the first 10 minutes of the game and led by as many as 30 points in an 82-60 wire-to-wire win over Lenoir-Rhyne at Shuford Gym Wednesday evening in South Atlantic Conference play.
"I saw a lot of good effort," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "Obviously we shot the ball really well. We were getting some of the shots we wanted granted we were making some outside shots. We were playing hard on the defensive end and on the offensive end. Sometimes when you play hard and your spacing is right some good things will happen."
Carson-Newman (9-4, 5-2) wins its third straight game in Hickory against Lenoir-Rhyne (4-9, 2-5) for the first time since winning three in a row from 2006 to 2008 improving to 46-29 all-time in the series history.
Kayla Marosites (Elizabethton, Tenn.) registered her 11th double-double of the season with 24 points, 13 rebounds and three assists going 9-for-14 from the field. The senior moved past three players on the school's scoring list into 20th bringing her career total to 1,100.
The Lady Eagles wasted no time getting out of the blocks scoring 11 of the first 13 points of the game to force a time out from the home club. Going 6-for-8 from long range in the first period, C-N swelled the lead to 20 at 30-10 on a steal and mid-range jumper from Kelci Marosites (Elizabethton, Tenn.) before the horn sounded.
Despite making two of its first nine and shooting 36 percent in the second stanza, the visitors were plus-10 in the second and pushed the bulge to 30 at the break leading 49-19 closing the half on a 7-2 burst.
Lenoir-Rhyne produced the lowest scoring first quarter, 10, and lowest scoring second quarter, nine, of any C-N opponent this season giving Mincey's crew its second-largest halftime lead of the season.
1⃣1⃣ double-doubles on the year for @KaylaMarosites
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) January 9, 2020
4⃣ straight wins on the year
3⃣ consecutive victories in Hickory@CNwbasketball keeps up its winning ways. pic.twitter.com/WEuLTqGjnJ
To start the third frame, C-N made one of its first seven shots allowing the Bears to score 12 of the first 15 points cutting the deficit to 21. That margin stuck through 30 minutes despite Mincey's group going 5-for-15 from the field.
"To not start the second half with any more fire and attention to detail sends us out of here with a little bit of disappointment," Mincey said. "A lot of coaches will think you won by 22 but our expectations are a little bit different. I would expect us to play better regardless of what the score is. If L-R makes a couple shots when they went on that run and [Kayla] doesn't bail us out and make some buckets it could have been a different game."
A 16-4 scoring surge over a five-minute window in the fourth allowed the Lady Eagles to build the bulge back to 29 at 82-53 with less than two minutes to play. However, L-R scored the final seven points of the game to make the final margin 22.
Four C-N players finished in double figures. Addison Byrd finished behind Kayla Marosites with 14 points. Tori Griffin (Strawberry Plains, Tenn.) tallied 13 points and six rebounds and Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) tallied a dozen and a career-high six caroms.
"We just want to come out, play hard and play together," Griffin said. "We have been trying to focus more on our defense and not so much our offense. I think everybody played so well together and aggressive. I think defense is how hard you want to do it. It comes with a lot of effort."
Carson-Newman limited Lenoir-Rhyne to 33 percent in the winning every statistical area in the game finishing up 52-47 on the glass with six blocked shots.
Two Bears finished in double figures with Madeline Hardy scoring 15 with nine rebounds. Ashley Woodroffe threw in 14 points with five assists and three rebounds.
The Lady Eagles play their first home game of the 20's Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. against Queens beginning a stretch of three of four at Holt Fieldhouse. Broadcast coverage airs on cneagles.com/live and on 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville).
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