Hill resets career-high to lead C-N past Wingate
WINGATE, N.C. – Caroline Hill (Kingsport, Tenn.) scored a career-high 19 points to help Carson-Newman (8-3, 5-1 SAC) to a fourth straight win, defeating Wingate 65-56 on Saturday afternoon at Cuddy Arena.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
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15 | 11 | 19 | 20 | 65 |
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13 | 18 | 10 | 15 | 56 |
VIDEO: Caroline Hill Interview
WINGATE, N.C. – Caroline Hill (Kingsport, Tenn.) scored a career-high 19 points to help Carson-Newman (8-3, 5-1 SAC) to a fourth straight win, defeating Wingate 65-56 on Saturday afternoon at Cuddy Arena.
"We came out and did not shoot the ball well," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "I thought we had some great looks, just couldn't get it to go down. Wingate had good energy and got up in us defensively. I thought Caroline Hill was huge coming off the bench. She rose up huge and helped us offensively to end up hitting six threes as a team in the second half. It was a good performance for us, not our cleanest. Obviously, got killed on the glass, didn't shoot it well in the first half, didn't score 70 points but we won the game."
Carson-Newman's win over Wingate is its third straight road win in the series, matching its longest road winning streak in the series previously done during a stretch in the 1992 and 1993 seasons. C-N hands WU its second straight road loss, the first time the Bulldogs have lost back to back at home since 2020.
Dating back to last season, the Lady Eagles scored at least 70 points in their past 21 wins with this performance being the first win without reaching 70 points since beating Limestone 69-55 on December 18, 2024 last season.
The first quarter was back and forth throughout. The lead changed hands four times in the first four minutes and the game was tied after a Chloe Heath (Maryville, Tenn.) three-pointer. Caroline Hill (Kingsport, Tenn.) scored the final five points of the frame to give C-N a two-point lead after the first quarter.
Karli Haworth (Maryville, Tenn.) knocked down a triple to give C-N an 8-0 run spanning the quarter break, but Wingate would answer. The Bulldogs would score 12 of the next 14 points to lead by five with 4:17 to play in the second. Emily Gonzalez (Lenoir City, Tenn.) ended a four-minute scoring drought with a jump shot in the lane, helping C-N score six of the next eight points to draw within one. Wingate would score the final four points of the half to lead by five at intermission. C-N shot 26.7% from the field in the second quarter.
Three starters played less minutes than usual because of foul trouble in the opening half.
Carson-Newman would be a different team after halftime. Wingate scored the first basket after halftime to get its biggest lead of the game at seven. The Lady Eagles would punch back with an 11-0 scoring run. Hill drilled back-to-back triples to give C-N the lead, and Mattie Nuckolls (Chatsworth, Ga.) ended the scoring surge with a three of her own to make it a four-point C-N lead, just four minutes into the third. C-N made three-pointers on three consecutive trips down the floor. The Carson-Newman advantage got up to as many as six, before two WU free throws made it a four-point game entering the fourth.
A pair of Chloe Heath (Maryville, Tenn.) three-point possessions pushed the lead out to seven in the opening minutes of the fourth. Wingate responded by scoring seven of the next nine points to make it a two-point game with four minutes to play. Carson-Newman would go on to make winning plays down the stretch. Up four, Nuckolls went backdoor for a layup and after a defensive stop, Gonzalez made a driving layup with a minute left to seal another road win at Cuddy Arena.
The win gives C-N its first when trailing at halftime this season. It's the first time the Lady Eagles have won on the road when trailing at halftime since beating Lincoln Memorial 59-45 on January 7th, 2023.
Carson-Newman made 52 percent of its shots after halftime and held Wingate to just 27 percent shooting in the second half.
Hill's career-high 19 led the way, including a career-best five three-pointers. Overall, she made seven of her 13 shots. Nuckolls joined her in double-figures with 13 points on six for eight shooting to go along with five rebounds, three blocks and two steals. 11 of her 13 points came after halftime.
Heath finished a point shy of her first double-double, tallying a career-high 11 rebounds with nine points.
Keeleigh Rogers (Knoxville, Tenn.) led C-N in assists with six.
Carson-Newman was crushed on the glass, getting outrebounded by 16 and by 12 on the offensive glass. That advantage for Wingate on the offensive glass led to an 18-2 advantage in second chance points.
Wingate was led by Chi'nya Isaac's 11 points. Kyleigh Bacon and Laura Montiel also finished in double-figures with 10 each.
Carson-Newman breaks for Christmas and returns to action on New Year's Eve on the road at Francis Marion. Tip off with the Patriots is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 11:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A live camera of the broadcast crew "On Press Row" will also be available on YouTube.
Team Stats
Wingate
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | Wingate |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (24-57) | (20-61) |
| Field Goal % | 42.1% | 32.8% |
| Rebounds | 31 | 47 |
| Assists | 16 | 9 |
| Turnovers | 19 | 23 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 16 | 18 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 2 | 18 |
| Pts in the Paint | 22 | 34 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 10 | 17 |
| Bench Pts | 25 | 18 |
