ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the second time in her career, sophomore Braelyn Wykle was named the South Atlantic Conference's Player of the Week Monday after leading Carson-Newman to 3-0 week with wins over Anderson, Wingate and Queens.
The Greeneville, Tenn. native averaged 25 points, four assists and four rebounds per game during the week shooting 48 percent from the floor and burying nine of 18 from beyond the arc. Wykle won her first weekly plaudit on Jan. 25, 2020.
To open the week, the sophomore netted 20 points adding six assists and four rebounds in 37 minutes helping the Lady Eagles beat Anderson 75-67. She followed up that performance with a career effort dropping 33 points in an 81-60 victory over Wingate going 8-for-16 from the field, six of nine from deep and draining 11 of 12 at the free-throw line.
"She has the ability to score at all three levels," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said on Wednesday. "Those types of people are really hard to guard. We use a lot of ball screen action with her. She got hot early in the first half scoring 17 and shooting the ball well. In the second half, she was able to get to the rim and get to the free-throw line. She hadn't made a ton of threes this year but goes six of nine. She carried us from an offensive standpoint. We are really proud of her. She is a warrior. She is still young but she did what I would expect Braelyn to do."
A little traffic won't keep @B_Wykle from driving to the basket �� pic.twitter.com/gKhFGKb7S2
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 6, 2021
Closing out the winning week, Wykle led the team with 23 points in a 93-62 victory over Queens at Holt Fieldhouse on Saturday. She went 9-for-15 from the floor connecting on a trio of treys adding five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
On the season, the reigning SAC Freshman of the Year has scored at least 20 points in nine of 11 games including each of the last four. Her scoring average has risen to 23.4 points per game to lead the league and rank fourth nationally.
The all-region selection also leads the league in free-throw percentage (85.7 percent) and made field goals (80) while being in the top 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.72), assists per game (4.3), field-goal percentage (47 percent), free throws made (54) and three-point percentage (35 percent).
The Lady Eagles are back in action on Wednesday evening with a road trip to take on UVA Wise at 5:30 p.m. Fans can listen on the Mountain 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online by visiting cneagles.com/live starting at 5:15 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" on the Eagle Sports Network.
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