VIDEO: Braelyn Wykle Interview
VIDEO: Skylar Boshears/Lindsey Taylor Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In her final home game at Holt Fieldhouse, Braelyn Wykle made it a memorable one. She put together one of the best performances in program history, scoring a career-high 45 points on a single-game record 13 three-pointers to propel Carson-Newman (20-8, 14-6 SAC) to a 34-point rout of Mars Hill (13-18, 7-13 SAC) on Senior Day.
Wykle managed to break two program records, the single-season record for three-pointers made and single-game record for three-pointers made, all while also resetting her career-high with 45 points, 23 of which came in one quarter.
"She has had a fantastic career in the five years she has been here," Carson-Newman women's basketball head coach Mike Mincey said. "She has meant a lot to me as a coach, as well as all the seniors. Our program has benefited from the storied career that she's had. To come out on senior day and achieve another record for single-season and single-game for threes with 13. She has set marks really high and its going to be really hard for someone else to achieve. It was a great performance for the team but certainly for her as well."
Wykle started her scoring outburst with a layup to get C-N the early lead. She hit a pair of triples in the opening quarter and C-N led by eight after one quarter.
A pair of Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) layups increased C-N's lead to ten early in the second quarter. Needing just four three-pointers to break the single-season record, Wykle nailed her third and fourth three-pointers 80 seconds apart, part of an 11-0 run that extended the Lady Eagles' lead to 19. Mars Hill scored the final five points from the free throw line to trail by 16 at halftime.
The third quarter belonged to Wykle. A Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) three-pointer started the third quarter scoring, but Wykle took control of the game from there. The graduate student made C-N's next five shots, all three-pointers, the fifth three-pointer which broke the single-game record and Carson-Newman led by 27. After a Mattie Nuckolls layup, Wykle followed with two more triples and the lead was 38. Braelyn made two free throws toward the end of the quarter to finish off a 23-point third quarter, outscoring Mars Hill herself 23-12 in the period.
Heading into the fourth quarter with 37 points, Wykle scored eight straight points in a 90-second spurt to finish with a career-high 45 points. She drilled two more threes in the fourth quarter to finish with a C-N single-game record 13 threes, tying the SAC record for three-pointers in a game as well.
"Holt Fieldhouse has been good to me over the years," Wykle said. "I've tied the three-point record multiple times and so I felt like it was bound to happen. There is no better place for this to happen than Holt Fieldhouse. My teammates were finding me, it was a beautiful thing. When they started coming up on me more, that got us really easy buckets. It just really makes our offense go really smooth."
Wykle's 45-point night is the highest scoring performance by a SAC women's basketball player this season and second-best scoring effort in program and SAC history. She finishes just three points shy of both those respective records.
"None of this would have happened if it wasn't for Mincey and the staff," Wykle said. "They really took a chance on me. I was just this undersized point guard that could shoot a little bit. My family gets to come down here to watch every home game that they want too. Tonight, I had my great-grandfather here, my grandmother who is 92 or 93, so that means literally everything in the world to me. My parents haven't missed a game other than covid. It's been awesome and if I had a chance to do it again, I would pick this place ten times out of ten."
Wykle moves into sixth place on the all-time scoring DII women's basketball scoring list, up to 2,679 points in her playing career. Her 356 career three-pointers are tenth-most all-time.
The 34-point victory caps an unbeaten home slate and extends the 12th longest active home winning streak in the country to 15 games. It's the third time under Mincey that the Lady Eagles have finished a regular season unbeaten at home.
The win is the 20th this season and the sixth time in the last seven years and 23rd time that the program has achieved that mark.
Taylor finished the game as C-N's other double-digit scorer with 14 points on six for eleven shooting from the field. Penland made a pair of triples and finished with eight points. Mattie Nuckolls (Chatsworth, Ga.) and Emily Gonzalez (Lenoir City, Tenn.) each finished with six points off the bench.
C-N assisted on 27 of its 35 made baskets, with Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) and Keeleigh Rogers (Farragut, Tenn.) each finishing with five to lead the way. Seven different players had at least two dimes.
Thanks to 13 from Wykle, the Lady Eagles finished with a season-high 16 three-pointers, shooting 37%. As a team, C-N shot 15% better from the field than Mars Hill and scored 21 points off of turnovers.
Mars Hill placed three players in double-figures with Aalliyah El finishing with 13 points. In a game with a combined 46 fouls, the Lions made 22 of their 35 free throws.
Carson-Newman is the number three seed in next week's South Atlantic Conference women's basketball tournament and will face off against six-seeded Anderson, Wednesday March 6th at 2:30 p.m. in Rock Hill, S.C. Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and cneagles.com/live starting at approximately 2:15 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network.
