Mendenhall's 28 lifts Lady Eagles to 82-71 victory over Lincoln Memorial

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Senior guard Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) fired in a game-high 28 points to lead the Carson-Newman women's basketball team to an 82-71 victory over Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday night in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse.

Mendenhall was 10-of-19 from the floor, including four 3-pointers, in helping the Lady Eagles improve to 7-12 on the season and 3-6 in the conference. The win was C-N's seventh straight over Lincoln Memorial at Holt Fieldhouse.

With the loss, the Railsplitters drop to 8-9 overall and 3-6 in SAC play.

C-N overcame 29 turnovers by shooting 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the floor and holding a 47-36 advantage on the boards. Lincoln Memorial shot 41.4 percent (29-of-70) on the night and was just 4-of-18 from 3-point range.

Sophomore forward Courdne Miles (Burlington, N.C.) pitched in 13 points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds for C-N. She also collected four steals on the night. Junior forward Zoriah Williams (Calera, Ala.), sophomore Candis Clear (Memphis, Tenn.) and junior Cassie Bates (Fremont, Calif.) added eight points apiece in the win. Williams also had eight rebounds.

Dayshalee Salaman netted 19 points and had eight assists to pace the Railsplitters, while Patrice Talley finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Whitney Holmes tossed in 10 points.

Lincoln Memorial jumped out to a 4-0 lead to open the contest, but the teams fought through three ties and a lead change during the next five minutes. With the game tied at 13-13, Williams made a layup to put C-N ahead 15-13 and give it the lead for the remainder of the game.

Salaman later made a layup on the fast break off a Lady Eagle turnover to trim C-N's lead to 24-23 at the 8:25 mark, but C-N took control of the game and outscored the Railsplitters 21-8 to close out the half and take a 45-31 lead into the locker room.

Mendenhall drilled a 3-pointer coming out of the locker room to give the Lady Eagles a 48-31 advantage. However, Lincoln Memorial went on an 8-0 run capped off by a basket by Talley to pull the Railsplitters to within 48-39 with 16:23 remaining.

C-N quickly pushed its lead back to 17 with an 11-3 run to take a 59-42 lead on a layup by Bates, but the Railsplitters once again trimmed the Lady Eagles' lead to nine at 69-60 on a layup to Carrie Ann Harris at the 5:21 mark.

But that was as close as Lincoln Memorial would get the rest of the way, as C-N extended its lead to 82-66 on a 3-pointer by Mendenhall with 1:20 left.

The Lady Eagles return to action on Saturday at home against Catawba. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.