VIDEO: Lindsey Taylor Interview
VIDEO: Campbell Penland Interview
ANDERSON, S.C. – Trailing by 11 in the second and by seven with 2:14 on the clock, Carson-Newman scored the game's final 10 points to complete it second double-digit comeback against Anderson this year winning 67-64 in South Atlantic Conference play Saturday at the Abney Center.
"We talked about a quote before the game that if you play hard all the time and don't focus on winning and losing, if you are talented enough those things will take care of itself," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "Tonight is one of those cases. It was a hard fought game. With the struggles that we had from an offensive perspective, I am proud that they hung in there. It's not often you can trail by as many as [11 points] on the road at this point and come back and win. We are happy to get out of here with a victory."
The Lady Eagles were 11-81 under Mincey when trailing with two minutes to play in a game before completing the comeback to earn a fourth straight win over the Trojans, the longest winning streak for the program in the history of the series.
Carson-Newman (11-3, 9-2) has faced two of its three largest halftime deficits to Anderson (8-7, 8-3) this year and come back to win both times.
Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) led the Orange and Blue in scoring with 19 points going 6-for-10 from the field adding a trio of triples. The rookie chipped in seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
"I had obviously been struggling a lot this past couple games," Penland said. "I had lost my confidence a little bit but I had to go into practice after our game on Wednesday and completely forget about everything. I had to go back to the basics and remind myself that I am a good shooter and come in today with confidence and that's what I did."
Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) failed to score in the first half but put up 16 points in the second half and 10 in the final minutes to finish with 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds making six of 10 from the floor.
"I had struggled in the first half with scoring and doing what I need to do," Taylor said. "I knew I had to go into it with a better mindset for us to win this game. The past couple games I hadn't been rebounding like I should. I have been floating out lately and I knew I needed to change that."
Addison Byrd (Nashville, Tenn.) tossed in 14 points and two steals while Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) added 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
�� Second-half comeback
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) January 8, 2022
�� Clutch foul shots
�� @cjpen14 pacing the offense
✅ @CNwbasketball win pic.twitter.com/FshVnapxK9
Saturday was the first time this year that Mincey's team was held below 70 points as his teams owned a 37-58 record when racking up fewer than 70 points in a game prior to the victory.
The teams traded blows in the early going before Penland scored seven straight points in less than a minute to put the Lady Eagles on top 17-11 with 2:45 to go in the first before going quiet from the floor.
Anderson scored the final six points of the first frame and 11 in a row to take the lead at 24-21 less than three minutes into the second. All told the Trojans closed the first half on a 22-6 burst to go into the locker room leading 35-27.
Carson-Newman missed 10 of 12 shot from the field in the second including all eight from inside of the three-point arc turning the ball over eight times. Over the final 11:14 of the first half, the Orange and Blue scored six total points. It was the second-lowest points scored by C-N since the NCAA transitioned to quarters in 2015-16. The club had five in the second stanza at Lenoir-Rhyne on Dec. 17, 2016, a 57-56 loss.
The home crew built up a 44-33 edge before going nearly five minutes with points to allow the Lady Eagles to claw within one at 44-43 on a layup from Makayla Alvey (Dandridge, Tenn.). Anderson held onto a 48-45 edge going into the fourth.
After scoring the first three points of the fourth to knot the score at 48 with 9:08 to go, the Lady Eagles failed to score for nearly three minutes watching the Trojans score seven straight as C-N went 3:55 without point. Despite closing the gap to a possession, the home crew built back the lead to seven thanks to a trifecta by Shemeka McNeill with 2:14 to play. It would be the last points of the day for Anderson.
Carson-Newman went 6-for-6 at the line in the final minute and after drilling two foul shots, Taylor grabbed a missed shot and put it back in on the left block to put the Lady Eagles on top 65-64 with 10 seconds to play.
Brittney Stafford missed a running layup in the paint and Penland buried two foul shots with four seconds to play. The gold and black never attempted a game-tying shot missing a layup at the buzzer to end the game.
Against the No. 10 rebounding team in the country, Carson-Newman held the edge on the glass at 40-35 pulling down 16 offensive boards. The Trojans had won all five SAC home games this season and seven straight regular-season contests against the league.
McNeill led all scorers in the game with 23 points in 38 minutes. Stafford added 14 points, eight rebounds and a couple steals in 36 minutes. Britney Bailey was the only other Trojan in ouble figures finishing with a dozen and seven rebounds.
The Lady Eagles continue their road swing travelling to No. 17 Catawba for a rematch of last year's NCAA opening round contest against the Indians. Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and cneagles.com/live starting at 5:15 p.m.
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