ANDERSON, S.C. – No. 5/4 Carson-Newman was outscored by 20 points after halftime and suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of Anderson (3-5, 1-3 SAC) on Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.
"It started with the very first offensive possession of the second half," Carson-Newman women's basketball head coach Mike Mincey said. "We turned the ball over on the possession and didn't even get a shot attempt. The second half was the second half. You never want to lose and I'm upset to lose. But, I told JB (Anderson head coach Jonathan Barbaree), thank you. We've been exposed two games in a row trying to live up to something we may not deserve. You can't have a stat sheet like we had today and expect to win."
Anderson scored more third quarter points than C-N had the entire second half. AU outscored Carson-Newman 49 to 29 in the second half to overcome an 11-point halftime deficit.
The Lady Eagles coughed the basketball up 23 times. C-N's 23 turnovers were a season-high, resetting the season-high mark for turnovers for the second straight game.
Carson-Newman's offense struggled to get going early in the contest. Anderson went a 9-0 scoring run during a stretch where C-N went more than three minutes without a basket. The Lady Eagles shot just 30 percent from the field in the opening frame and trailed by three.
C-N started to find its groove in the second period. It made five of its first eight shots and scored 15 of the first 22 points to gain the lead back three minutes into the quarter. The Lady Eagles scored eight of the final ten points leading up to intermission and led by 11 points at halftime. Carson-Newman shot 56 percent in the second quarter and outscored AU by 14 to create separation, making the final three baskets of the half.
Anderson scored eight of the first ten points after halftime and brought the deficit down to five. AU scored six straight points to grab its first lead of the quarter at the 3:25 mark of the third quarter. The Trojans nailed back-to-back three-pointers and ended the third quarter with a three-point lead.
After going down by six points early in the fourth quarter, C-N scored seven straights in a 2:59 stretch to gain a two-point lead
Anderson's defense and offensive executed down the stretch proved to be the difference. AU closed the game on a 13-2 run over the last 5:36 of the game to defeat C-N.
Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) finished the game with her third double-double of the season and the 26th of her career. Her 10th point in the game moved her to 10th on the all-time scoring list.
Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) both finished in double-figures as well with 13 and 11, respectively. Rutherford snagged a season-high nine rebounds.
Carson-Newman made a season-low two three-pointers in 16 attempts. Anderson entered the game shooting 24 percent from long range, and made nine of its 21 attempts.
Ashlyn Sheridan led the AU offense with a game-high 18 points, 12 of which came after halftime. Peytyn Oliver and Rose Gravel also finished in double-figures for an Anderson offense that shot 42 percent and made a season-high nine three-pointers.
Carson-Newman returns to action on Wednesday with a road matchup against UVA Wise. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 5:15 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.
