VIDEO: Lindsey Taylor Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) scored a career-high 38 points to help pace Carson-Newman (16-6, 13-5 SAC) past Mars Hill 98 to 75 on Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse.
The country's second-most efficient scorer made a career-high 17 field goals on 19 attempts to score a career-high 38 points in the 23-point home win. 23 of her 38 points came after halftime, in a second half where she made all ten of her shots. She scored 15 of C-N's first 19 points in the fourth quarter.
"We challenged her to be the player she can be," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "We didn't play well on Saturday and didn't get her the ball enough. She got to her spots to go 17 of 19 from the floor. It's another thing for her to be able to collect offensive rebounds and get scores herself that way."
Taylor's now scored 30 points or more five different times in her career and has led C-N in scoring 25 different occasions throughout her five-year career.
Carson-Newman has now won its last 13 games versus Mars Hill inside of Holt Fieldhouse. The Lady Eagles improve to 9-1 at home this season and have scored 78 points or more in all nine wins.
"We felt like we were ready to go tonight," Mincey said. "The way we played basketball tonight on both ends of the floor what we are accustomed to. It certainly is a joy to coach that too."
C-N led 8-7 with 4:51 to play in the opening frame. Lady Eagles finished the quarter making eight of their final ten shots to lead by four points after one quarter.
The offenses were in a groove into the second quarter. Both teams traded shot after shot. C-N made its six shots in a row at one point, to lead 39-36 with 4:21 to go. C-N ended the first half making ten of its final 12 shots to lead by seven points at intermission. The Lady Eagles scored ten of the final 12 points before intermission.
Carson-Newman pushed its seven-point halftime lead quickly to double-figures. Taylor made back-to-back shots and it was 57-47 with 7:15 remaining in the third quarter. C-N led by as many as 12 before seeing the Lions draw within six with 1:26 to play in the third. Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) helped make certain that lead went back to double-digits, as she scored seven straight points to help C-N lead by 11 heading to the fourth.
SEVEN IN A ROW FOR @cjpen14 ��
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 5, 2025
A triple and a steal-and-score help C-N grow the lead!
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Penland's late third quarter run propelled C-N to a strong start in the fourth quarter. Taylor scored the first six points of the fourth to lead by 17 with 7:56 to play. Three minutes into the fourth, MHU got its first field goal but then Taylor went on another mini scoring burst. She scored the next seven points in the game to ballon the lead to 24 with 4:48 left. The Lady Eagles pulled away and never let the Lions get any closer than 23 in the final minutes.
NEW CAREER-HIGH FOR @19LindseyTaylor ��
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 6, 2025
Lindsey resets her career-high with 38 points on the night!
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MHU and C-N both shot 54 percent from the field, with the Lady Eagles taking 19 more shots and making ten more.
Carson-Newman overcame Mars Hill's 54 percent shooting by forcing the Lions into 27 turnovers and scoring 25 points off of those miscues.
Career-high 3⃣8⃣points from @19LindseyTaylor
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 6, 2025
Forced 2⃣7⃣turnovers
Lady Eagles have scored 7⃣8⃣points or more in all nine of their home wins
C-N has four straight home wins✔️@CNwbasketball x #TalonsUp pic.twitter.com/WKKyqrj1LL
Emily Gonzalez (Lenoir City, Tenn.) and Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) each scored in double-figures with 14 and 10, respectively. Penland's 10 points moved her past Briana Smith and Addison Byrd for 14th on the all-time scoring list. Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) finished with a team-high six assists and eight points.
Taylor's nine rebounds helped C-N win the rebounding battle 34-23 and 15-7 on the offensive glass. Taylor has led C-N in rebounding in nine straight games and in 17 of the 22 games.
Mars Hill was led by Aaliyah El's 16 points.
The 98-73 final score is the 835th most unique score in program history.
Carson-Newman is back at Holt Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon versus Newberry. Tipoff between the Lady Eagles and Wolves 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.
