Harassing defense drives C-N to rout of Wasps
January 10, 2024

Harassing defense drives C-N to rout of Wasps

Tying the program record for steals in a game with 24, Carson-Newman (10-4, 4-2 SAC) harassed Emory & Henry (7-8, 2-5 SAC) to stay unbeaten at home this season with an 88-48-win Wednesday evening inside Holt Fieldhouse.

VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

VIDEO: Lindsey Taylor Interview

VIDEO: Highlights

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Tying the program record for steals in a game with 24, Carson-Newman (10-4, 4-2 SAC) harassed Emory & Henry (7-8, 2-5 SAC) to stay unbeaten at home this season with an 88-48-win Wednesday evening inside Holt Fieldhouse.

It's the third time in program history that Carson-Newman has recorded 24 steals in a game. The other two occasions came in back-to-back games against Augusta State and King during the 2009 season.

"The effort with the press and following into the frontcourt was really good," Carson-Newman women's basketball head coach Mike Mincey said. "I thought we stymied them a lot and didn't give up easy buckets. They did a good job last time out against Catawba and breaking their pressure and scoring out of it, so we tried to not give them that easy stuff. The effort and intensity was there and our offense showed up for what we've been looking for. That is closer to the potential that I have been looking for out of our basketball team."

The win keeps Carson-Newman unbeaten at 8-0 at home this season and gives Mincey his 250th career win. He ties Eddie Carter for most wins in program history.

The Lady Eagles defense disrupted the Wasps from the start of the game. C-N started the game on an 11-0 scoring run to force an early E&H timeout. That early run set the stage for a game that was played with C-N ahead by double-figures from the seven-minute mark and on. Keeleigh Rogers (Farragut, Tenn.) scored the last four points of the period to swell the lead to 29-13 after one.

Carson-Newman took its defense to another level in the second period. It started the quarter on a 15-2 scoring run and the lead grew to 29 points. Five different players pitched in during the scoring burst, with three of them coming in fastbreak off Wasps turnovers. Back-to-back Wasps buckets ended the run, but C-N had another one in store. Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) scored five straight points and Rogers followed with four to push the lead to 32 with three minutes left until halftime.

The lead was 34 at halftime, C-N's largest lead at the break this season. C-N's 57 points were the most in any half this season.

The Lady Eagles turned over E&H 12 times in the second quarter and scored 17 points off those mistakes. Carson-Newman had seven blocks and 15 steals in the opening half, marks it had only achieved in two games this season, they had at halftime.

Mincey's crew started half number two the right way. Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) made consecutive layups to start the second half and Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) followed and the lead was 40. E&H did damage from the free throw line in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 26 at one point, thanks to eight made free throws in the period.

Taylor started the fourth quarter the same way she did the third with back-to-back layups to make it 76-43. The final period was dominated by the C-N defense, which only allowed five points in the fourth quarter, the fewest any opponent has scored in a period against C-N this year. The Wasps shot 2-20 from the field in the final quarter.

Carson-Newman's defense recorded season-highs in steals (24), turnovers forced (30), and points off turnovers (36). Makayla Alvey (Dandridge, Tenn.), Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) Penland and Karli Haworth (Maryville, Tenn.) each recorded a team-best three steals, while six others also contributed with at least one steal.

"We had good energy and good recognition out of what we were wanting to accomplish with the press," Mincey said. "We weren't as conservative with the press. We tried to follow up with some traps and put them in some precarious situations. Those steals came in a variety of ways and it helped us go down and get easy baskets and score off of those turnovers."

Taylor finished with her third straight 20-point game. She was an efficient 11 for 15 from the field and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. The senior forward is averaging 26.3 points in her last three games.

"The guards really trust me," Taylor said. "Off the pressure, to have guards be able to find me underneath and then shooters outside, it allows me to get the one-on-one coverage and score. If they double-down, I know I have great shooters open."

Wykle was C-N's other double-figure scorer, making seven baskets and had a team-high five three-point field goals, finishing with 21 points.

While no one else scored in double-figures for C-N, many others contributed. Rogers and Haworth led C-N off the bench with nine and eight points. The bench scored 30 points in the game.

C-N held the Wasps to 33% shooting and just two three-point baskets, while C-N was 47% and made nine three-pointers.

Emma Santoro made half of her shots to finish with 24 points to lead the Wasps. Breanna Yarber added 13 points, while no one else scored more than five points.

Carson-Newman now hits the road for a matchup against Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. from Hickory, N.C. Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and cneagles.com/live starting at 1:45 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network. A live stream of the game is available with a subscription to FloSports.

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