Depew's Buzzer-Beater Lifts C-N Past LMU, 74-72

HARROGATE, TN – Carson-Newman's Shannon Depew's runner with 0.3 seconds remaining broke a 72-72 tie and lifted the Lady Eagles to a 74-72 win at Lincoln Memorial in South Atlantic Conference play on Wednesday night.

Depew's runner lifted the Lady Eagles to their second straight SAC win and staved off a furious LMU rally. C-N led by 16 in the final seven minutes before LMU rallied to tie in the final minute.

The sophomore drained a one-handed runner just inside the right elbow for the game winner. C-N called timeout with 10 seconds left to isolate Zoriah Williams, but Williams had the ball slip away when she recovered to find a cutting Depew.

LMU falls to 4-5 in the South Atlantic Conference and 9-8 on the season. Carson-Newman moves to 4-5 in the SAC and 10-7 overall.

Depew led the Lady Eagles with 17 points and seven rebounds. Four other players added double-digits for Carson-Newman with Zoriah Williams compiling 14 points and six rebounds to lead that group.

Dayshalee Salaman was spectacular on the evening as she poured in a game-high 26 points with six rebounds and four assists. Moriah Richardson added 12 points off the bench to go along with four rebounds. MaRanda Boddie grabbed nine rebounds and eight points. Lauren Cochran also narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and seven boards.

The Lady Railsplitters started quickly as they ran out to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes of play. The Lady Eagles answered with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to one with 13:30 on the clock. LMU held a 14-10 lead at the ten-minute mark before Carson-Newman rallied off an 11-0 run capped with a jumper by Courdne Miles with 8:52 left in the half.

With 2:46 left in the half, the Lady Eagles took their largest lead of the half at 33-22 with a layup by Zoriah Williams. Jumpers by Moriah Richardson and MaRanda Boddie cut the deficit to 33-26 at the half.

In the second half, the Lady Eagles retained their advantage and crept away as the half ticked away. With 5:04 left in the game, the Lady Railsplitters faced a seemingly insurmountable 68-52 deficit. LMU answered with a dramatic 17-4 run powered by Dayshalee Salaman's ten points in that span to cut the Lady Eagles' advantage to three with 1:38 remaining.

With 29 seconds remaining, Ralissa Nelson drilled a three to tie the game at 72-72. Following a timeout, the Lady Eagles drew up a play for Shannon Deprew who drained a runner to give Carson-Newman the lead with .3 seconds on the clock. Lincoln Memorial's desperation shot fell short as the Lady Railsplitters lost a heartbreaker, 74-72.

Carson-Newman returns to action on Saturday against Catawba on Saturday. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. in Salisbury, N.C. LMU will hit the road on Saturday, January 28th, as they travel to Wingate University to look to get back even in the South Atlantic Conference. That game will tip at 2 p.m.