Lady Eagles pull away for 72-54 victory over Maryville College

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman College women cruised to a 72-54 victory over Maryville College Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse.

The Lady Eagles even their 2010 record at 3-3 with the win over their Division III rival. Though the Lady Scots are a division lower than Carson-Newman, they always battle tooth and nail in this annual match up on the hardwood. Wednesday night would be no different.

The Lady Eagles had no trouble taking an early 20-8 lead thanks to freshman forward Shannon Depew (Newport, Tenn.) and senior guard Katilin Moore (Fort Mill, S.C.). Depew had a breakout game for the Lady Eagles, recording her first double-double in the Orange and Blue with 19 points and 14 rebounds with five blocks. Moore had 13 points.

"We finally woke up on the boards," C-N women's head coach Dean Walsh said. "Shannon was big. She was the saving grace in the first half."

Depew banged the boards early, creating shots and limiting Lady Scots extra offensive chances. After sophomore forward Courdne Miles (Burlington, N.C.) gave Carson-Newman a 12-point lead, Maryville found a way to fight back in the game.

The Lady Eagles defense clamped down on two of Maryville's primary scoring threats, Janell Menard and Kiera Payne, holding both to a combined eight points.

"Defensively we did a pretty good job," Walsh said. "We picked up our intensity and got them (Maryville) a little wild."

Instead, the Lady Scots got the majority of their points from Laliah Farmer, who had 13, and Paige Sevier, who had 11 off the bench.

Still recovering from her ACL surgery last season, Carson-Newman junior forward Zoriah Williams (Calera, Ala.) saw significant action Wednesday night. Williams grabbed eight rebounds and scored seven points.

"Z (Williams) is going to have some rust," Walsh said. "Seven points and eight rebounds coming off an ACL tear, I'm going to say not too bad."

The Lady Scots actually held a one-point lead with 15 minutes to go in the game after a big three pointer from Farmer. The scare was enough to help the Carson-Newman women put the hammer down and charge ahead.

"We had some break downs on defense and in the second half we cleaned it up," Walsh said. "There are still too many uncontested threes on their shooters.

Senior guard Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) scored some big baskets to help the Lady Eagles pull away down the stretch. Mendenhall finished with 10 points. Sophomore guard Candis Clear (Memphis, Tenn.) had eight points and five assists.

The Lady Eagles had a rough night at the free throw stripe, shooting just 41.4 percent. They also turned the ball over 21 times.