JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman led for just eight seconds and could not get closer than six points in the second half falling to Anderson 72-64 in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse.
"Braelyn had 44 last time so we knew that was going to be taken away from her," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "Braelyn had a hard time getting going in the first half and did much better in the second half. We had a lead early in the second quarter and I think it's the run they went on. We had stuff we could have converted and didn't. They converted on some stuff and it was that run. We struggled to score and weren't very efficient on that end of the floor. We got it back close but never hit that shot to put enough pressure on them."
The Lady Eagles had won six in a row over the Trojans falling for the first time in the series since Feb. 1, 2020. Anderson (17-12) beats Carson-Newman (17-12) in the postseason for the first time in three tries.
Wednesday was the third time in league history that a rematch of the prior year's title game was played in the quarterfinals with the runner-up winning for the second time in three tries.
Harli Smith (Jamestown, Tenn.) tied for the team lead with 19 points adding eight rebounds and Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) added 19 points with five boards and four assists. Each player went 8-for-16 as the rest of the roster went 9-for-37 from the floor in the contest.
Neither side shot better than 30 percent in the opening 10 minutes of basketball but Anderson scored the first six points of the game and held onto the lead for the duration of the period taking a 14-11 edge into the second.
On a driving layup by Skylar Boshears (Lafollette, Tenn.), C-N took its first lead of the day at 15-14 with 8:41 to go in the half. The lead lasted eight seconds as the Lady Eagles scored just two points in the final six minutes going 4:50 without points. Anderson scored 14 in a row over that period and led by 14 at 37-23 at halftime.
Anderson did not score until the 6:16 mark of the third period but the Lady Eagles only scored two points. The Trojans opened up their largest margin of the day at 45-28 with 3:44 to play in the period before Wykle scored eight of the next nine and Emily Gonzalez (Lenoir City, Tenn.) hit a running buzzer-beating three from the right win to make it a 50-41 game going to the fourth.
Coach Jonathon Barbaree's team pushed the margin out to 14 at 58-44 with 6:26 to go in the game. The Lady Eagles were able to get within six twice including at 68-62 with one minute to play but the visitors hit four free throw in a row to drain the clock.
Diamond McDowell led all players with 24 points and 18 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the year. Jalyn Spurlin added 17 points and Britney Bailey chipped in 15 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.
Anderson scored 20 points off of 15 Carson-Newman turnovers tallying 40 points in the paint and swatting 10 shots. The Trojans advance to a sixth consecutive semifinal.
Carson-Newman will not reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 while being unable to win 20-plus game for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.
"We will be back next year," Mincey said. "We are one of a few teams that knows exactly what we have come August. We are trying to make another run at a title next year."
To follow along to the program in the offseason, follow @CNWbasketball on Twitter and @cn_wbb on Instagram for all of the latest information and notes.
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