Lady Eagles hold off Southern Arkansas for 87-77 victory in Lloyd Clark Classic

CLEVELAND, Miss. — Senior guard Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) fired in a season-high 26 points to lead the Carson-Newman women's basketball team to an 87-77 victory over Southern Arkansas on Saturday in the Lloyd Clark Classic at Walter Sillers Coliseum.

Mendenhall, who was named to the All-Tournament team, also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and a game-high five steals to help the Lady Eagles improve to 2-3 on the year. With the loss, Southern Arkansas falls to 0-2.

C-N held the Muleriders to 38.8 percent shooting (26-of-67) and scored 29 points off of 23 Southern Arkansas turnovers.

Sophomore guard Candis Clear (Memphis, Tenn.) tossed in 17 points for the Lady Eagles, while Katlin Moore (Fort Mill, S.C.) and Dominique Jackson (North Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) added 13 and 10 points, respectively, in the win.

Southern Arkansas' Cha'Kia scored a game-high 31 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, while Keysha Hill netted 21 points and had eight rebounds. Samantha Canizar pitched in 10 points in the loss.

Southern Arkansas built a 26-19 lead midway through the first half, but C-N went on an 8-1 run capped off by a Whitney Moody (Blountville, Tenn.) layup to tie the game at 27-27 with 7:57 left. After the teams played to a 37-37 tie, Clear and Jackson scored back-to-back baskets to give the Lady Eagles the lead for the remainder of the half, as C-N went into the locker room with a 44-39 advantage.

The Lady Eagles took control of the game to open the second half as they outscored the Muleriders 25-13 to build a 69-52 lead. Southern Arkansas scrapped back with a 22-8 run to pull to within 77-74 on a jumper by Lee. However, Mendenhall answered with a jumper at the other end, and C-N went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the win.

C-N returns to action on Dec. 1 at home against Maryville College. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.