JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (22-8) ran into the hottest team in the Southeast region, losing to Anderson (23-9) 89-65 in the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Thursday night at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center.
The Trojans have not lost over the past two months and have won 11 straight games.
"Congratulations to Anderson," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "Since they've been fully stocked with all of their players, they have been one of the top teams in our conference and the region. No one is going to want to face them in the NCAA Tournament next week. One team had it today and the other team didn't. It's unfortunate that we are on the wrong side of things.
The Lady Eagles struggled to score the basketball and could not stop a high-powered Anderson offense. The Trojans shot 50 percent or better in both halves of basketball and scored at least 20 points in each quarter.
Carson-Newman finished the game shooting just 36 percent from the field, its third-lowest shooting effort of the season. The Lady Eagles made just eight of its 26 three-point attempts, a 31 percent mark.
Carson-Newman did have some bright spots in the semifinal loss. Makayla Alvey (Dandridge, Tenn.) recorded her second double-double of the year and fourth of her career scoring 16 points and grabbing ten rebounds. Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) scored 15 points for C-N, all of which came in the second half.
AU scored the first five points of the game in the first 30 seconds and never looked back. The good start allowed AU to lead 13-9 with 4:46 left in the first. After making it a two-point game, the Trojans would close the quarter on a strong note, scoring the final nine points to lead by 11.
The advantage for the Trojans would extend out to 15 points early in the second. Back-to-back layups made it 31-16 with 6:33 to play in the opening half. The rest of the half was dominated by the three seed. Carson-Newman missed its final five shots from the field, and scored just two points in the final five and a half minutes to trail by 22 at intermission. Alvey had all three baskets in the second quarter for C-N.
The Lady Eagles were eight of 26 shooting at intermission and turned the basketball over 12 times.
It was Carson-Newman's largest halftime deficit since trailing by 23 against Catawba on December 16, 2015.
The Trojans continued their strong shooting from the field into the third quarter. They scored 14 of the first 19 points after halftime to push the lead to 31 with 5:22 left in the third quarter. Carson-Newman got 11 points from its bench over the final few minutes of the quarter and it was 68-43 after three quarters.
Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) scored eight straight points for C-N to make it a 23-point game again with still 7:34 to play. C-N would later get within 21 points, but no closer falling 89-65 in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
All-region players Diamond McDowell and Zamiya Passmore each scored more than 20 points. McDowell scored 25 points on 10 of 21 shooting and grabbed 18 rebounds. Passmore was just as good with 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
AU turned C-N over 16 times and scored 19 points off the turnovers. Carson-Newman was outscored in the paint 48-28, just the fifth time this season being outscored in the paint.
The 89-65 final score is not a scorigami. This score has now happened on two occasions in the program's history.
The Lady Eagles wait to find out their NCAA tournament fate Sunday evening at 10:30 p.m. with a selection show on NCAA.com. C-N was rated fifth in the latest region rankings that were released on Wednesday.
