No. 22 Carson-Newman Races Past Brevard, 91-62, Wednesday Evening At Holt Fieldhouse

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The No. 22 Lady Eagles gave their seniors a solid sendoff on Wednesday evening as Carson-Newman outscored Brevard by a 55-25 margin in the second half to defeat the Tornados, 91-62, in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse.

“To score 91 points and only have one person with more than 12 points, I think that is a testament to our depth,” said Head Coach Dean Walsh. “I’m proud of this team and the way they are starting to come together. Brevard is a much-improved team and they played a very good first half.”

Carson-Newman opened up a 24-11 lead at the 10:20 mark after going on a 17-6 run that covered 4:44. The Tornados answered back a minute and a half later, outscoring the Lady Eagles 17-3 over the final 8:09 to take a 37-36 lead into the locker room.

After the break, the C-N jumped out to a 10-4 to start the second half and never looked back. Carson-Newman continued to build its lead for the rest of the contest, as senior guard Liz Stringer (Parma, Ohio) hit a three-pointer with 43 seconds to go to lead by 29.

The Lady Eagles shot 52.4 percent (22-for-42) in the second half compared to just 29.2 percent (7-for-24) for the Tornados. C-N also outrebounded Brevard, 43-34, and forced 26 turnovers in the victory.

For the contest, Carson-Newman posted a 44-20 advantage in the paint and 28-10 off turnovers.

“Our seniors went out on a positive note and gave us some very, very good play,” added Walsh. “I am really, really proud of the way everybody responded in the second half. I thought our energy was better and our defensive intensity was tremendous. We just ran the ball the way we are capable of running it.”

C-N senior forward Shari Buford (Hampton, Ga.) had game-highs in scoring (21), rebounding (11) and blocks (four), while senior guard Ashley Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) tallied 12 points, five assists and four steals. Stringer finished the game with six points.

Lady Eagle junior guard Katlin Moore (Rock Hill, S.C.) had 12 points as well, going 3-for-5 from behind the arc while freshman forward Tasha Phillips (Clarkrange, Tenn.) had 12 points of her own.

Brevard was paced by Samantha Winn (Candler, N.C.) and Holli Flippo (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) as they tallied 11 points each as Winn had nine rebounds. Millie Wharton (Brisbane, Qld., AUSTRALIA) chipped in 10 points of her own.

Carson-Newman will play their last home game of the regular season on Saturday when it hosts Lincoln Memorial in SAC action at 2:00 p.m.

-Joe Matthews, C-N Sports Information