VIDEO: Tori Rutherford Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – No. 9/7 Carson-Newman (4-0, 2-0 SAC) made 14 three-pointers to roll to a 17th straight home win, defeating Tusculum (2-3, 0-1 SAC) 93-73 on Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse.
"It was ugly at times on our behalf and then there were some great moments, especially when you are making shots," Carson-Newman women's basketball head coach Mike Mincey said. "I thought Tusculum did a good job, played hard and obviously scored well. As a coach, regardless of what the stats say, I am not thrilled or happy with our performance. I am happy with several players. Certainly, CP (Campbell Penland) the way she was able to play and then I thought Tori (Rutherford) was critical with her veteran status in that fourth quarter."
Carson-Newman maintains the fourth longest active home winning streak, having now won 17 straight games inside Holt Fieldhouse.
The Lady Eagles are 4-0 for the 16th time in program history and for the 7th time under Mincey. It's the first time since the 2020-21 season that C-N has started a season 4-0.
Mincey's squad has now scored 90 points or more in all four wins to start the season. It's the first time in program history scoring 90+ in the first four games of a season.
C-N shot a better percentage from long range 14-31 (45.2%) than it did from inside the arc 18-45 (40.0%)
4⃣th straight game with 90+ points
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) November 21, 2024
1⃣7⃣th straight home win
2⃣7⃣ assists on 3⃣2⃣baskets
Lady Eagles are 4-0 for the first time since 2020-21��@CNwbasketball x #TalonsUp pic.twitter.com/Sf7uwi5Bti
Campbell Penland led the three-point barrage (Sevierville, Tenn.) and led all scorers with 25 points on six for 15 shooting. She drilled five of her ten three-point attempts and made all eight free throws to complete her scoring effort. She moved past three former Lady Eagles on the all-time scoring list and now sits with 1,076 career points, 27th in program history.
.@cjpen14 AGAIN��
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) November 21, 2024
Penland has a game-high 25 points as C-N grows the lead back to 22��
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Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) was also terrific offensively as well. She was an efficient six for 12 from the field and made three of her six three-pointers. She also dished out a team-high six assists.
Both Penland and Rutherford each scored 14 points in the second half.
"They are both trustworthy players," Mincey said. "They have been around here for a long time, with me forever. They are just people I can trust when we get into the fourth quarter. You have to have good vets that can perform down the stretch.
Madelyn Ladd (Harriman, Tenn.) and Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) rounded out the double-figure scorers. Sullivan scored 11 points and made three triples, while Ladd notched 10 points for her second career double-digit scoring performance.
Both teams struggled out of the gate. C-N started the game making just three of its first 14 shots and TU was just four of 12 as things were tied at the first media timeout. The Lady Eagles made five of their final ten shots in the opening period and took a 21-14 lead into the second quarter thanks to a 7-0 scoring run.
Carson-Newman used the three ball to break open the lead in the second quarter. Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) nailed three three-pointers and Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) hit another to outscore TU 12-5 and make it a 33-19 game with 4:44 until halftime. Tusculum made its final four shots of the opening half to make Carson-Newman's lead 46-31 at intermission.
The Lady Eagles nailed eight three-pointers on 18 attempts to overcome just 37% shooting in the opening half. C-N was eight of 25 on shots inside the arc in the opening half.
Three minutes into the third quarter, C-N gained its biggest lead of the contest as Rutherford and Sullivan drilled back-to-back three-pointers to make the score 57-38. Carson-Newman made just one of its final seven shots and Tusculum drew within single digits but free throws from Penland helped make it an 11-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
C-N's defense helped extend its lead back out to 17. Rutherford's steal and score made it 78-61 with 7:41 to play in the contest.
YEAH, @torijrutherford ��
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) November 21, 2024
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The three-point shot continued to play a major factor as Rutherford and Penland nailed two more three-pointers to grow the lead to 86-63, C-N's largest lead with 4:18 to play. Carson-Newman maintained its 20-point lead and held off TU for a 93-73 victory.
Points off turnovers played a role in the game. C-N was +11 in that category and scored 27 points off 23 TU turnovers.
Carson-Newman won the rebounding battle 45-37 and was 16-7 on the offensive glass. Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) snared down a team-high 14 rebounds including eight offensive rebounds.
C-N assisted on 27 of its 32 field goals. Rutherford and Taylor each had six, with Taylor's six being a career high.
The Lady Eagles wrap up their three-game homestand versus Catawba on Saturday. Tipoff is at 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.
