Lady Eagles fall to No. 4 Lander, 68-52, in Division II Tipoff Classic

GREENWOOD, S.C. — The Carson-Newman women's basketball team dropped a 68-52 decision to No. 4 Lander on Sunday in the Lady Bearcats Division II Tipoff Classic at Horne Arena.

With the loss, the Lady Eagles fall to 0-2 to start the season, while Lander improves to 2-0.

Neither team shot the ball well on the night. C-N scored at a 35 percent clip (21-of-60), while Lander shot 34.7 percent (26-of-75). However, the Lady Bearcats took advantage of 21 Lady Eagle turnovers as they scored 28 points off of C-N's miscues.

Freshman forward Shannon Depew (Newport, Tenn.) paced the Lady Eagles with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Dominique Jackson (North Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) pitched in 10 points and six rebounds. Senior guard Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) added nine points and eight rebounds, and senior Katlin Moore (Fort Mill. S.C.) had eight points, six boards and four steals in the loss.

Shannon McKever carried the Bearcats with 22 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots. Ciara Lyons delivered 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Jasmine Judge had 11 points and four steals and Brittni Johnson produced seven assists and four steals.

The teams battled through three ties and three lead changes to open the contest, but the Lady Bearcats used a 23-10 run to take the lead for good as they went on to take a 40-26 lead into the locker room.

After the Lady Bearcats pushed their lead to 49-30 at the 15:59 mark of the second half, the Lady Eagles went on a 9-0 run capped off by a Kiki Locket (Flagstaff, Ariz.) jumper to pull to within 49-39. However, C-N was unable to trim Lander's lead below 10 points the rest of the way.

C-N returns to the hardwood on Tuesday as it is set to face King College in its home opener. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.