Balanced attack helps C-N collect 17th straight win over Newberry
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (12-4, 8-2 SAC) used a strong shooting second half to win its 17th straight game over Newberry (9-7, 3-7 SAC) 80-68 on Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
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18 | 15 | 19 | 16 | 68 |
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22 | 15 | 28 | 15 | 80 |
VIDEO: Karli Haworth Interview
VIDEO: Keeleigh Rogers Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (12-4, 8-2 SAC) used a strong shooting second half to win its 17th straight game over Newberry (9-7, 3-7 SAC) 80-68 on Saturday afternoon at Holt Fieldhouse.
The win is C-N's 13th straight home win and its 33rd home win in the past 34 home games.
"I was concerned coming into this one," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "I mentioned this to the team at shootaround and at Friday's practice. That we just came off a really good against LMU, a rivalry game in front of a packed house. And today was going to be a matinee start and the feeling of the game was going to be different but you still have to bring it. We didn't score as well as we could've in that first half. Karli's (Haworth) performance is why we had that halftime lead. We came out in that third quarter and had our best scoring period of the day. Karli gave us great minutes again there too and she only played 10 minutes to score 17 points. She saved the day in some regard, especially in the first half."
Carson-Newman has won its past 17 games against Newberry, including its past 12 against the Wolves in Holt Fieldhouse. 13 of those 17 wins now are by double digits, including six straight now.
Haworth reset her career-high for the second time this year, scoring a career-high 17 points and drilled all five of her three-pointers, a career-best mark from distance.
Three other Lady Eagles joined her in double-figures in scoring. Emily Gonzalez led the team with 19 points on efficient seven for 11 shooting. Jennifer Sullivan drilled two threes to score 15 points, 12 of which came in the second half, and dished out a team-high six assists. Keeleigh Rogers posted her second double-digit scoring effort of the year with 13 points, 11 of which came after halftime.
The first few minutes saw the lead change hands four times. Newberry took an 8-7 lead on a Reagan Williams layup but never had the lead again. An Abigail Johnson layup started a 7-0 scoring run over two minutes to help C-N lead by six with four to play in the first quarter. Off the bench, Karli Haworth scored the final eight points of the quarter for C-N and the lead was four after the first period.
The Wolves would tie the game twice early in the second period. It was a one-possession throughout the second quarter, but C-N always led. Haworth drilled a three-pointer in the final seconds of the half to push the lead to four at intermission.
Carson-Newman's offense would find its groove in the second half. Jennifer Sullivan buried a three-pointer on the first possession, and C-N would go on to make five of its first seven three-pointers in the third, to open up a 12-point lead with 3:50 left in the third. The two teams went on mini scoring runs late in the third, with C-N scoring the final six points of the quarter to lead by 13 after three quarters.
The fourth stanza saw Newberry score the first five points. Marykate Kent hit her only two three-pointers of the game in the first three minutes to make it a seven-point game. Individual player scoring runs was the theme in the final seven minutes for C-N. Emily Gonzalez scored C-N's next five points to make the lead eight with 5:38 remaining and the rest belonged to Keeleigh Rogers. The junior forward scored the final eight points for the Lady Eagles, all layups to seal the 12-point win.
Individual scoring runs were a theme throughout, seeing four different occasions in which an individual player scored five or more consecutive points for C-N. Haworth had two of them, with Gonzalez and Rogers each having one.
"It was really important because we could never get away from Newberry," Mincey said. "They kept making shots and shot the ball well. Every time we would make a shot, it felt like we may be able to get it to 15 or so but we couldn't. They would go down and make another tough shot or create another second chance opportunity. Without those players providing that, we probably don't win today."
Carson-Newman's 57 percent shooting after halftime helped the team shoot 50 percent for the fourth time this season. Mincey's team also had great success from long range, making 10 of its 23 three-point attempts. It's C-N's third best percentage from three this year and the fifth time it has made 10 or more in a game.
The Eagles defense limited Newberry's top two scorers by average to just a combined 16 points on 25 percent shooting. However, the Wolves did get great scoring days from Leigha Harris who scored 16 and Hannah Nimmo's 12 bench points to help lead to a 43 percent effort from the field.
Newberry won the effort on the glass, outrebounding C-N 38 to 29 and 10 to six on the offensive end.
Carson-Newman will be on the road for its next two games, starting on Wednesday at Mars Hill. Tip off with the Lions is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 1:45 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
Newberry
| Game Statistics | Newberry | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (26-61) | (30-60) |
| Field Goal % | 42.6% | 50.0% |
| Rebounds | 38 | 29 |
| Assists | 15 | 18 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 10 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 8 | 13 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 6 | 4 |
| Pts in the Paint | 38 | 36 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 10 | 8 |
| Bench Pts | 22 | 21 |
