VIDEO: Tori Rutherford Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. – After losing in the two regular season meetings against seven-seeded Lincoln Memorial (13-15), Carson-Newman (22-7) avenged those losses by putting together a complete performance to win 75-60 in the South Atlantic Conference tournament quarterfinals Tuesday night at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center.
"Today was a different script than what we had seen earlier this season," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "We shot the ball better, we held them to below 40 percent shooting something that we did not do in either of the first two games. The girls wanted this, obviously you never want to lose to anybody three times in one season. I'm really excited for them and what they did tonight."
Carson-Newman improves to 20-5 overall when playing as a top four seed in the opening round of the conference tournament. The win is C-N's second victory versus LMU in the SAC tournament all-time and the first win over the Railsplitters in the quarterfinal round.
Four different Lady Eagles scored in double-figures for C-N to shoot 52 percent from the field and 47 percent from long distance, paced by Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) and Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.). Rutherford made eight of her 15 field goals including two three-pointers. Like Rutherford, Sullivan buried two triples and made six free throws for her 18 points.
Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) each finished scored double digits as well. Penland made three triples for her 11 points, while Taylor went a perfect five for five from the field for 10 points. She also collected 10 rebounds for he sixth double-double of the season and 29th of her career. It's her second career SAC Tournament double-double and third in postseason games.
"We did a much better job of coming into this game and how we wanted to attack based on how we guarded us," Mincey said. "I felt like the girls did a really good job. You have to make shots in tournament time. A lot of players tonight made big shots.
Defensively, Carson-Newman was just as impressive. It held LMU to 38 percent shooting and held LMU's leading scorer Alexa Smiddy to just 13 points on 12 shots.
Carson-Newman jumped out to a hot start. It scored the first nine points thanks to baskets from Penland, Sullivan and Taylor to lead 9-0 three minutes into the game. The Railsplitters settled in and responded by scoring eight of the next ten points to make it a three-point game with 2:32 left. The teams went back and forth in the final minutes of the first, but a Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) banked in three-quarter court shot in the final seconds gave C-N a one-point lead after one.
Carson-Newman beats the buzzer to take the 21-20 lead into the second quarter! @CN_Eagles pic.twitter.com/B4OYg6cV6Q
— South Atlantic Conference (@SAC_Athletics) March 5, 2025
LMU regained the lead on a three-point basket nine seconds into the second period. C-N countered back with a triple and never trailed again in the second period. The Railsplitters made it a one possession game on multiple occasions, but the Lady Eagles pushed the lead to eight by halftime, scoring the final six points to lead 41-33 at intermission.
The Lady Eagles started the second half well. C-N went on a 7-0 run, that eventually turned into a 16-3 extended run to make it 57-36 with 5:26. Rutherford and Sullivan scored 11 of the 16 points during the run. The strong third quarter made Carson-Newman's lead 20 heading to the fourth quarter.
Counting the final two minutes of the second quarter and the first five minutes of the third quarter, C-N outscored LMU 22-3. In the middle quarters of the game, Carson-Newman held the Railsplitters to 26 percent shooting and outscored them 42-23.
Early into the fourth, the Lady Eagles pushed the advantage to 22 on a Makayla Alvey (Dandridge, Tenn.) layup four minutes into the final period. LMU made one last push, scoring seven points in less than 90 seconds to make it a 15-point game with 4:37 left. But, Penland and Rutherford made back to back shots to close out a quarterfinal victory.
Round 1 ✔️@CNwbasketball x #TalonsUp x @torijrutherford pic.twitter.com/oDoaXhVYG8
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 5, 2025
The Lady Eagles won the rebounding battle 36-24 and converted nine second-chance points off eight offensive rebounds.
Taylor dished out a team-high five assists to go along with her double-double and she had the highest plus minus at +21 in 30 minutes on the floor.
Kamil Collier was Lincoln Memorial's leading scorer with 17 points, seven of which came from the free throw line.
Carson-Newman advances to the South Atlantic Conference Tournament semifinals Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. The Lady Eagles will play the winner of three-seeded Anderson and six-seeded Mars Hill. Those two squads meet Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. Coverage Thursday on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 7:15 p.m. with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
