VIDEO: Abigail Johnson Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – No. 9/7 Carson-Newman (5-0, 3-0 SAC) remained perfect on Saturday afternoon inside Holt Fieldhouse with another stellar offensive effort, using an explosive third frame to take down Catawba (3-2, 1-1 SAC), 92-80.
C-N's win over Catawba marks the 18th-straight win inside of Holt Fieldhouse, fourth longest active home winning streak in the country. It is also the fifth straight game in which the Eagles have eclipsed 90 points, the most consecutive games since the 2017-18 team did it in two separate stretches. It's the 12th 5-0 start in program history for C-N.
"When our offense starts grooving together, they all five share the ball well," Head coach Mike Mincey said. "In that third quarter, coming out after a fast-paced first half, I like the way we came out. Almost every third quarter we've had this year, we've came out and played extremely well, especially on offense."
The first quarter set the tone for a fast-paced matchup, as Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) started the scoring with a hook shot in the lane before Catawba's Nala Baker answered with a three, giving the Indians their first and only lead of the day. Taylor sparked a quick 6-0 C-N run, and Emily Gonzalez (Lenoir City, Tenn.) added on with a jumper to give C-N a five-point lead.
Catawba would get the deficit back within three, but a 7-0 run highlighted by a Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) three and an Abigail Johnson (Cookeville, Tenn.) layup gave the Eagles their largest lead at 24-14. The two teams traded baskets down the stretch, and a Brooklin Ingram three at the horn brought Catawba within seven at the quarter break.
Penland opened the second frame with a triple to push the C-N lead back to ten, but the Indians ripped off a quick 5-0 run to shorten the deficit again. The Eagles had another answer, scoring the next seven on another Penland triple, a Gonzalez layup, and Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) finding her way to the cup to cap off the quick spurt and give C-N an 11-point lead. The lead would grow to as much as 13 after a Makayla Alvey (Dandridge, Tenn.) bucket before the two teams went back-and-forth for the remainder of the quarter, and C-N went to the locker room leading by nine.
The Eagles would come out of the halftime locker room firing on all cylinders, as C-N would respond to an early Catawba score with a bucket plus the harm from Lindsey Taylor to push the lead back to ten. Later in the quarter, Campbell Penland knocked in another triple before Jennifer Sullivan netted two from the free throw line to give C-N a 14-point lead, its largest of the contest. Near the end of the quarter, Abigail Johnson went on her own 4-0 run to continue her impressive day off the bench, extending the Eagle lead to 16. However, Catawba scored seven of the final nine points of the quarter to bring the deficit back to 11.
The Eagles answered the Indians' late burst in the third, as Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) and Campbell Penland knocked down back-to-back threes. After a Jennifer Sullivan layup, the C-N lead would grow to as much as 20 in the final frame. A quick Catawba 5-0 run would cut the lead to 15, but the back-and-forth nature of the quarter only allowed the Indians to get as close as 12 points before the final buzzer.
Four Eagles finished in double figures, with Jennifer Sullivan leading the way with 19 points. Campbell Penland notched 17 points, with 15 coming from behind the arc. Lindsey Taylor added 15 points and eight rebounds on six-of-nine shooting, while Abigail Johnson scored a career-high ten points off the bench.
The Eagles shot an even 50-percent from the field, shooting 36-of-72 but only made seven threes. C-N scored 50 of its 92 points in the paint and turned 17 Catawba turnovers into 18 points. C-N also secured 17 offensive rebounds, leading to 19 second-chance points.
Catawba was led by Sydney Gueterman with 14 points, while Janiya Foskey and Nala Baker added 13 apiece. The Indians had forced 25 turnovers per game coming into Saturday's matchup, but only forced 13 in Holt Fieldhouse. Catawba also averaged 19 offensive rebounds per game but was held to just seven on Saturday.
"It's something we talk about," Mincey said. "With Catawba, it's always been that way. It's all about limiting their offensive rebounds, limit the number of times you turn the ball over… The stat sheet looks good, and it is in our favor."
The Eagles return to action on Tuesday at Emory & Henry, kicking off a three-game road stretch.
For updates throughout the women's basketball season, visit cneagles.com and follow us on social media on @cn_eagles.
