HARROGATE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (20-7, 17-6 SAC) could not overcome Lincoln Memorial's (12-14, 11-12 SAC) impressive three-point shooting, suffering a 69-63 loss on Wednesday night at Tex Turner Arena.
"They shot better than their average, which means they were dialed in for the game," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "We essentially let one player beat us today. She missed four shots all game. We didn't start scoring until late and it was probably too late. I thought we had chances to get over the hump, but LMU time and time again came up with timely shots."
The Railsplitters have won back to back meetings in this series for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
Carson-Newman saw LMU make 13 three-pointers and did so on a 52 percent mark. Both of those numbers are the second highest of the season. LMU's 13 threes are the most any team has made on the Lady Eagles this season.
Lincoln Memorial came out blazing hot from three-point range. They made three of their first four three-pointers and led 9-4 with 6:14 to play in the first period. LMU's sharp shooting helped finish a strong period, as they made their final three triples of the first and led C-N by 11 after one quarter.
C-N responded well to start the second quarter. The Lady Eagles scored the first seven points of the second and drew within four with 7:36 left in the opening half. LMU ended C-N's 7-0 burst with back-to-back triples to push the advantage to ten again. Most of the second period was a single-digit game, and C-N trailed by seven at intermission.
The Lady Eagles started another quarter well as it got three-pointers from Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) to draw within one point with 6:50 to play in the third. The rest of the third period belonged to the Railsplitters. They outscored C-N 17-4 over the final 6:50 and led by 14 after three quarters. That burst included a 7-0 scoring run to close the quarter.
Just as it did in the prior two quarters, C-N started the period well. C-N scored eight of the first 11 points, with Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) scoring five of those and it was a single-digit game with 7:42 to go. C-N would continue its quality start to the fourth and drew within five points after a pair of Penland free throws with 4:23 to play. The Lady Eagles saw LMU push it back to a ten-point game with two and change to go but got five quick points from Alvey and Sullivan and were within five again with 1:26 left. C-N went on to miss its final six shots of the game and was unable to draw within a possession.
Carson-Newman put four players in double figures, led by Sullivan's 16 points on six for 15 shooting. Alvey, Penland and Rutherford were C-N's other double-digit scorers. Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) finished one-point shy of a double-double, going for nine points and 10 rebounds.
LMU made 50 percent of its shots compared to C-N's 40 percent. There was a discrepancy beyond the arc as well, with LMU going 52 percent on 13 makes compared to C-N's 32 percent and seven made triples.
Alexa Smiddy paced LMU's superb attack from long distance. She made seven of her eight three-pointers and finished with a season-high 32 points. It is the most points any player has scored in a game against C-N this season.
C-N won the rebounding battle 35-27 and grabbed ten more offensive rebounds but only scored two more second chance points.
Carson-Newman is back at Holt Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon for its regular season finale versus Coker. Tipoff between the Lady Eagles and Cobras 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
