VIDEO: Makayla Alvey Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Trailing at halftime for the first time at home all season, Carson-Newman (18-7, 12-5 SAC) responded with a season-high 52 second half points to defeat Anderson (18-6, 10-6 SAC) 84-79 and remain unbeaten at Holt Fieldhouse this season.
"Early on we were just getting beat to death," Carson-Newman head women's basketball coach Mike Mincey said. "They were getting anything they wanted and when we got good looks we weren't cashing in. The one thing I want to highlight is how Mattie Nuckolls came in and provided 11 points, that from a freshman we typically don't get. I thought she performed well when we needed her too. I just don't think we had the aggression early on. We talked about playing with more offensive aggression in the second half and they responded well."
Carson-Newman has won all 14 of its home games this season and extending the program's second longest home winning streak.
The Trojans got the early scoring start, making six of their first nine baskets to grab a 13-9 lead with 4:57 to go in the first period. The first five minutes of the game featured five lead changes. AU closed the quarter on a 11-4 run and led by eleven after shooting 52% from the field.
Both offenses got off to slow starts in the second period, going a combined 4-19 from the field through the first five minutes. The scoring picked back up right before halftime. Both teams finished the half making six of their final seven baskets and the deficit was 11 for C-N at the break. It was the first-time all-season Carson-Newman trailed at the break at home, and just the third time it trailed at halftime this year. Nuckolls scored 11 C-N's final 13 points of the half.
C-N drew within eight points after back-to-back Makayla Alvey (Dandridge, Tenn.) triples three minutes into the third quarter. The three-pointers continued to fall for the Lady Eagles as Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) buried her first three to trim the deficit to four. After going down by seven points, Penland and Wykle drilled back-to-back jump shots to bring C-N's deficit at three points after three quarters, capping a 26-point third period.
AU opened the final quarter with back-to-back buckets and the lead was back up to seven 40 seconds into the quarter. The Lady Eagles answered with an 8-0 run, capped by a Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) free throw that gave C-N its first lead since the opening period. After the two teams traded baskets, C-N scored ten of the next eleven points and led by eight after a pair of Alvey buckets with 2:39 to go. Five straight points from Zamiya Passmore brought the visitors to within three but they would not get any closer. Alvey stepped up with two massive jump shots with less than a minute to go to help seal the five-point victory.
"Both shots I knew the shot clock was winding down," Alvey said. "I knew there had to be a shot made so I just put up the best one I could."
Alvey scored nine of C-N's final ten points, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and second in the last three games.
It's C-N's first win in a game decided by five points or less. It's C-N's first win in a game decided by five points or less. Prior to this win, C-N had been 0-5 in those situations. Carson-Newman outscored Anderson 26-18 in both the third and fourth quarters. C-N shot a blistering 59% in the second half after shooting just 38% in the opening 20 minutes.
Carson-Newman has now won three games this season when trailing after three quarters.
Taylor led Carson-Newman in scoring with 24 points on eight for 12 shooting while also going eight for 12 from the free throw line. Wykle scored all 17 of her points after halftime to help produce the 52-point second half. Penland made four of her six shots to finish with nine points off the bench.
The Lady Eagles were plus nine on the glass and doubled up Anderson on the offensive boards 16-8. Mincey's squad outscored AU 21-7 in second chance points.
C-N only led for eight minutes and 17 seconds, its fewest in any win this season.
Passmore led Anderson scoring a game-high 28 points on 11 for 19 shooting. Three other Trojans scored double-figures to help the offense shoot 48% from the field.
Carson-Newman starts its final road swing of the season with a trip to UVA Wise on Wednesday. Tipoff from the Convocation Center is set for 5:30 p.m. Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and online at cneagles.com/live starting at 5:15 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/FloWbb
