No. 22 Lady Eagles Rally To Defeat Lincoln Memorial, 69-65, In Regular Season Home Finale Saturday

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Senior guard Ashley Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) had a game-high 19 points to lead No. 22 Carson-Newman (21-4, 10-4 SAC) to a 69-65 victory over Lincoln Memorial (9-16, 6-9 SAC) Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse. With the win, the Lady Eagles solidify home-court advantage in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

“It’s an ugly win, but it’s a win none the less,” said ninth-year Head Coach Dean Walsh. “The last three minutes of the game we stepped up when we needed to. I thought we did a good job of being aggressive inside and getting to the line, but we had too many senseless turnovers and forced a lot of shots.”

C-N and LMU battled to a 9-9 tie in the first 5:23 of the contest. The Lady Eagles reeled off seven straight points in a 1:05 span to take a 16-9 lead. The Lady Railsplitters would tied the game at 24 with less than three minutes before halftime, but the Lady Eagles would take a 31-27 lead into the locker room.

After the break, both C-N and LMU traded baskets over the first five minutes of the period before a layup by Dayshalee Salaman (Carolina, P.R.) gave the Lady Railsplitters a 38-37 lead. Down 48-43, Carson-Newman reeled off a quick 7-2 run to knot the contest at 50 with 8:19 remaining.

Lincoln Memorial responded to each C-N attack and held a 65-63 advantage with one minute remaining. Kyle hit a layup to tie the score at 65, and four subsequent free throws in the final 30 seconds of regulation gave the Lady Eagles the 69-65 victory.

“Tasha Phillips was huge once again for us; she came in and hit her free throws,” continued Walsh. “Dominique (Jackson) and Courdne (Miles) did a good job doing the little things.”

Kyle led C-N with 19 points, going seven-for-seven from the free throw line and dishing out a game-high three assists while senior forward Shari Buford (Hampton, Ga.) had 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in the game.

Junior guard Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) posted 11 points as well for Carson-Newman while sophomore forward Zoriah Williams (Calera, Ala.) and freshman forward Tasha Phillips (Clarkrange, Tenn.) each had eight points and seven rebounds. Williams had a game-high four steals in the win as well.

Salaman led all scorers with 21 points and added six rebounds and three steals while Carolyn Mills (Nashville, Tenn.) had 17 points and seven rebounds. Blandine Kikwiki-Mamuku (Kinshasa, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO) chipped in 12 points as well.

“We have to be ready to play Wednesday,” concluded Walsh. “They took it to us here and we have to be ready to make some adjustments and try to win at a place that we have struggled in the past.”

Carson-Newman will travel to Salisbury, N.C., on Wednesday to take on Catawba in SAC action at Goodman Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m.

-Joe Matthews, C-N Sports Information