Defense stifles Newberry and Sullivan shines in final regular-season road win
Carson-Newman lets up a season low 48 and shot over 50 percent from deep to collect a necessary road win over the Wolves.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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12 | 19 | 24 | 24 | 79 |
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10 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 48 |
NEWBERRY, S.C. – Carson-Newman lets up a season low 48 and shot over 50 percent from deep to collect a necessary road win over the Wolves. The Eagles now roll into their final two regular-season games at home on a two-game winning streak.
The Eagles thrived on three-point shooting and defensive stops, winning by 31 points, 79-48. This splits the difference in terms of C-N's road record, improving to 7-6. Carson-Newman Women's Basketball is now 14-6 in SAC play and 18-8 overall.
After not playing in the midweek win over Emory & Henry, Jennifer Sullivan came back with fresh legs, pouring in 28 points to lead the Eagles on 10-17 shooting from the field and 4-6 from deep. With her fourth three, Sullivan tied Addison Bird for the 11th most threes all-time at Carson-Newman. Her 66.7% shooting mark from deep was a season high and came at a much-needed time; Sullivan hadn't shot above 42% since the end of January.
"You know she had not been shooting the ball particularly well over the course of four games and didn't get to play the other night and came back with a vengeance tonight," said head coach Mike Mincey. "She was a real catalyst tonight for us in terms of how we played on the offensive end."
The time off was much-needed reflection time for the senior.
"Kind of felt like I was going through a bit of a slump before I got sick, and I guess having that day off let me recharge, and I really felt like myself out there," said Sullivan. "I talked to the people who I am close to and being reminded of who I am as a player and reminding myself of what I've done all year."
For an Eagles team that had been struggling to shoot the three, C-N laid them on thick in this game. Carson-Newman was 11-20 from deep as a team, good for 55% beyond the perimeter. That marks the second game in a row that the Eagles have shot 55% or better from deep, and just the second game in February they've done so. Five different Eagles contributed with a triple in this contest as well, the first time that has happened since the win over #14 Coker on January 30th.
While C-N held the lead for 75% of the first half, it was certainly closer than the time with the lead showed. Newberry tied the game four times in the first and second quarter, and held the lead with 6:50 to go when C-N turned on the jets. The Eagles went on a 14-0 run highlighted by an Emily Gonzalez three to make it a 31-19 game. The best three point shooter in the SAC Marykate Kent drilled a three-pointer to end the run. She was also fouled with 1.1 seconds left in the second quarter on the way up for a three and made all her free throws to make it 31-25 at the half.
The Eagles had shown press the entire game, and in the third and fourth quarters, the defense started to wear on the Wolves. The Eagles went on multiple five and six-point runs to extend their lead out to 55-37.
"We've talked a lot about going back and forth with our press, and we were really wanting to stay with it this time and not bail. We bailed against Newberry at our place and they scored 68 points on us," said Mincey. "So, we wanted to make a point that we're going to do much better. And I thought that the energy level with anybody that touched the floor was great, especially out in the press."
Mattie Nuckolls and Caroline Hill were essential in the offensive effort from the Eagles tonight, grabbing 19 and 11 points, respectively. Nuckolls was a hawk today with 3 steals to go along with a team-leading five assists. Hill built upon her career night earlier in the week and was 3-5 from deep.
The Eagles scored twice as much as the Wolves did in both the third and fourth quarters. Carson-Newman's 24 points in both frames were highlighted by Hill's three triples. The Eagles only allowed one three-pointer in the second half.
"I think we communicated really, really well out of press. I think we struggled earlier in the season in transition out of the press and I think we took care of that really well. That shut down a lot of their transition points and allowed us to sit down and guard," said Sullivan.
For an Eagles team that has only won four times when they lose the rebounding battle, C-N needed to win the glass tonight. Keeleigh Rogers led the floor with 8 while three other Eagles ripped five or more off the glass. C-N won the rebound battle 35-31.
Carson-Newman's second unit played a big part in the defensive effort and allowing the offense to work with fresh legs. C-N had 11 bench points tonight and relied on them for a full quarter of play.
"That second group really played super special for the 15 straight minutes they played in the second half, and all of them could put the ball on the floor, so they were able to spread the floor out," said Mincey.
Sullivan also sang the praises of the group. When the second five were on the floor, they allowed only ten points throughout the game. Karli Haworth and Madelyn Ladd both drained threes for the Eagles as well.
"They go out there and play so hard and do exactly what they're supposed to. So when they do that, I think that's exhausting for other teams. We're grateful to have that," said Sullivan.
Despite 15 turnovers from C-N, the Eagles read the Newberry offense well. The Eagles limited the Wolves to just four assists, the fewest C-N has allowed all season. With 11 steals, the Lady Eagles collect their 10th game this season with double-digit team steals.
After just 11 points from the Wolves in the fourth quarter, C-N took the victory by a 31-point margin. This was the largest victory for the Lady Eagles since January 7th against E&H when C-N won by 42.
"I didn't expect to win by the margin that we did. When you shoot as well as we did, and really everybody that touched the floor played hard, but I thought Newberry did an excellent job guarding us," said Mincey.
The Lady Eagles have now won their last two games in a row out of the four-game skid to start February. They will take on Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne for their final games at home. They are in fourth place in the SAC currently and have a chance to elevate with a win over the number one team in the conference L-R.
"I think we learned a lot. I did as a coach about our team and about ourselves during the four-game skid," said Mincey. "I heard someone once say, you're either going into adversity or coming out of it, and that was certainly a lot of adversity…So I'm certainly happy that we were able to get out of here with a win and play well. That's the important thing with only two regular-season games left."
Carson-Newman will battle Mars Hill at home on February 25th at 5:30 PM. You can catch the action on Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 5:15 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 | Carson-Newman | Newberry |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (29-56) | (19-56) |
| Field Goal % | 51.8% | 33.9% |
| Rebounds | 35 | 31 |
| Assists | 12 | 4 |
| Turnovers | 15 | 17 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 20 | 12 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 11 | 11 |
| Pts in the Paint | 32 | 28 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 13 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 11 | 6 |
