VIDEO: Jennifer Sullivan Interview
GREENWOOD, S.C. – For the seventh straight time, Carson-Newman (2-0) defeated USC Aiken (0-2) by double digits, winning 103-68 on Sunday afternoon at Finis Horne Arena.
"Give credit to USC Aiken and how they started the game," Carson-Newman women's basketball head coach Mike Mincey said. "It was a noon tip and there wasn't a whole lot of energy in here and I thought they brought a lot of intensity and effort. We kind of got caught off guard, they were up in us and weren't making things easy for us. Once we got the game going we started to take off. I thought it was actually our bench in that first quarter that got us out of that slow start. That's what we need, production out of our bench and be able to function on both ends of the floor."
The Lady Eagles have now won ten straight games versus the Pacers and seven in a row by double digits. It's the first time in 16 meetings with USC Aiken that Carson-Newman has cracked the century mark in a game.
The 103-point scoring effort is the 32nd time under Mincey that C-N has scored more than 100 points. It's the first time since 2017-18 that Carson-Newman has scored 90 points or more in its first two games and just the third time its happened in program history.
Five players scored in double figures for the first time since December 13, 2023 at Tusculum.
Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) led Carson-Newman for the second straight game, scoring 22 points on efficient 50 percent shooting.
"My gameplan was just to get to the rack," Sullivan said. "Take the pull up middys (mid-range shots) when I get the chance. The three wasn't really falling as well so I just wanted to focus on those other shots."
Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) notched double figures with 12 points on five of nine shooting. Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) collected her 24th career double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing a game-high ten rebounds. Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) had a ten-point day and drilled two three-pointers.
Madelyn Ladd (Harriman, Tenn.) scored a career-high 12 points all of which came in the fourth quarter. She made five of her seven shots and both of her three-pointers.
Carson-Newman recovered nicely after missing its first five shots and seeing USC Aiken grab the early 4-0 lead. The Lady Eagles made nine of their final 13 shots and took a 23-16 lead after the opening period.
That momentum carried over into the first few minutes of the second quarter, scoring seven of the first nine points to lead 30-18. Carson-Newman forced USC Aiken to miss 11 of its final 12 shots and ballooned the halftime lead to 20 points.
C-N scored nine of the first eleven points after halftime, with a Gonzalez steal and a Rutherford layup closing the scoring run. Rutherford, Taylor and Sullivan each made consecutive layups in a 60-second span to make it 60-31 halfway through the third quarter. A 29-point third quarter propelled the lead to 31 heading to the fourth quarter.
Carson-Newman continued its scoring barrage, making five of six shots to open up a 35-point advantage halfway through the fourth quarter. Madelyn Ladd's fourth quarter shooting gave C-N its largest lead at 39 with 3:24 to go in the fourth. Caroline Hill made her first career field goal to help Carson-Newman crack 100 and eventually win 103-68.
Emily Gonzalez (Lenoir City, Tenn.) filled the stat sheet in her second career start. She scored nine points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out a career-high four assists and matched her career-high with six steals.
For the second straight game, Carson-Newman feasted off of turnovers. C-N scored 29 points off of 24 Pacer turnovers.
"I love the pressure defense," Sullivan said. "Emily has played like that since we were in high school. I think we've got multiple people that can do that and be active and that makes our press a big threat. Once we them uncomfortable we kind of smell blood and that's when we can really put it on them."
The Lady Eagles were efficient once again, making 51 percent of their shots and held the Pacers to 38 percent shooting.
Carson-Newman turns its attention to conference play as it serves as host to Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 1:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
A live stream of the contest is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/flowbb.
