Efficient offense drives C-N to road win over Catawba
January 23, 2026

Efficient offense drives C-N to road win over Catawba

SALISBURY, N.C. – Another high-scoring, efficient offensive performance powered Carson-Newman (14-4, 10-2 SAC) to a 101-73 victory over Catawba (7-10, 5-7 SAC) on Friday afternoon at Goodman Arena.

VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

VIDEO: Cybil Penland Interview

SALISBURY, N.C. – Another high-scoring, efficient offensive performance powered Carson-Newman (14-4, 10-2 SAC) to a 101-73 victory over Catawba (7-10, 5-7 SAC) on Friday afternoon at Goodman Arena.

The win is C-N's fourth straight over the Catawba Indians, sweeping the regular season series for the second straight year. The 28-point win is the fourth largest margin of victory by the Lady Eagles in this series.

"It started with Jenn (Sullivan) making shots," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "When she got going it opened up some things for others. We had several people contribute, Nuckolls in double-figures. Cybil came off the bench and I thought she would be a big factor today. Then Karli (Haworth), hitting five threes for the second time in three games she has done that. That makes your offense good too when you have those contributions off the bench.

Carson-Newman's 101-point effort is the second time this season it has reached the century mark in scoring. It's the first time an opposing team has scored 100 points or more at Goodman Arena since Wingate scored 107 back in 1988.

C-N's great scoring day came on a season-high 54 percent shooting. It's the fifth time this season that the Lady Eagles have shot 50 percent or better.

Four players reached double-figures in the 28-point win. Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored 28 points on five made threes, recording her 9th 20-point game of the year. Mattie Nuckolls (Chatsworth, Ga.) scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Karli Haworth (Maryville, Tenn.) and Cybil Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) reset their career-highs in the win. Haworth made five of her six threes to finish with 18 points, her fourth double-digit scoring day of the season. Penland made five of her seven shots to score in double-figures for the first time in her career.

Catawba jumped out to a five-point lead early, making three of its first four shots. Carson-Newman responded with their first of many scoring runs. A Keeleigh Rogers jump shot started a 14-0 scoring run and a 17-2 extended run over the final six and a half minutes to lead by 10 after one stanza.

A 10-0 scoring run in just two minutes pushed the advantage out to 18, three minutes into the second quarter. C-N would lead by double-digits the rest of the game and took an 18-point lead into the locker room.

The third quarter would be Carson-Newman's best scoring quarter of the day. Sullivan helped C-N make four straight shots to lead by 26 with 5:26 left in the third. C-N would make its final four shots of the quarter and lead by 24 after three quarters of play. The Lady Eagles shot 69 percent in the third and 50 percent from beyond the arc.

C-N would score 13 of the first 19 points of the fourth to gain its largest lead of the day at 33, halfway through the final stanza. It would go on to make three of its final five shots to win by 28.

When Carson-Newman did miss, it had its way on the offensive glass by outrebounding Catawba 16-6. Those 16 extra chances led to a season-high 23 second-chance points. Penland led the charge on the offensive glass, collecting five offensive rebounds to make for her career-high eight in the game.

The Lady Eagles held a +22 advantage on the glass, outrebounding Catawba 49-27. Leading the charge was Keeleigh Rogers, who finished with 13 in the game, one off her career-high. Rogers also led the team with six assists and scored seven points.

Catawba made 40 percent of its shots, but only connected on five of its 20 three-pointers. C-N remains an unbeaten 12-0 when it outshoots its opponent this season.

Mary Spry scored a season-high 29 points, making nine of her 12 shots in defeat.s

Carson-Newman returns to action at home on Wednesday versus Tusculum at 5:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 5:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (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.

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