Lady Eagles deliver near-flawless performance, demolish Mars Hill by 47
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (19-8, 15-6 SAC) clicked on all cylinders to demolish Mars Hill (5-22, 2-19 SAC) by 47 points, 105-58 on Wednesday evening at Holt Fieldhouse.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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15 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 58 |
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27 | 26 | 24 | 28 | 105 |
VIDEO: Delaney Weddington Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (19-8, 15-6 SAC) clicked on all cylinders to demolish Mars Hill (5-22, 2-19 SAC) by 47 points, 105-58 on Wednesday evening at Holt Fieldhouse.
The 47-point victory is the 14th straight win over the Lions at Holt Fieldhouse and is C-N's largest margin of victory in a game this season. The Lady Eagles now have 11 wins by 20 points or more this season.
"Because of what we went through two weeks ago, I knew they (Lady Eagles) would come out and give us all they had," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "To me, it's tournament time already. It didn't matter who we played today, we were going to play as hard as we could and I really liked how we came out to start. Everyone that touched the floor gave us all they had, gave great effort and they put on a great performance."
The Lady Eagles dished out 36 assists and turned the ball over just six times, their fewest turnovers in a game in at least 25 seasons. Keeleigh Rogers (Knoxville, Tenn.) led an insane 6-1 assist to turnover ratio with her career-high 10 dimes.
"There are so many positive things to look at from tonight," Mincey said. "36 assists to six turnovers and only had two turnovers at halftime. That is something we pride ourselves on and I'm glad we can certainly do that."
Carson-Newman eclipsed the century mark in scoring for the fourth time this season. It's the 38th time under Mincey, that C-N has scored 100 points or more. To get to 105 points, C-N was very efficient while attempting 85 shots, its most shots in a game since 2021. Mincey's team made 47 percent of their shots and drilled 17 three-pointers, matching a season-high.
Leading five double-figure scorers was Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) with her game-high 23 points. The senior made nine shots including four three-pointers. Sullivan now has 13 20-point games this season.
Caroline Hill (Kingsport, Tenn.) poured in four triples and scored 14 points. Mattie Nuckolls (Chatsworth, Ga.) narrowly missed out on a double-double, going for 12 points and nine rebounds.
Off the bench, Kali McMahan (Dandridge, Tenn.) and Delaney Weddington (Morristown, Tenn.) each scored 12 points and made five baskets.
C-N wasted no time to get rolling. Hill and Nuckolls each buried triples to help start on a 10-0 scoring run, forcing a MHU timeout with 7:05 left in the first. The Lions settled in offensively, and made three triples in the first quarter to keep it a 12-point game after one frame.
MHU made three of its first four shots of the second, but C-N's defense began to clamp down. The Lady Eagles held the Lions to no field goals for more than five minutes and their offense stayed just as efficient. Hill and Sullivan buried triples, part of a 12-0 scoring run to balloon the lead to 24. Five straight points helped C-N carry a 25-point lead into the halftime break.
The elite offensive execution was maintained in the second half. C-N opened the second half on an 18-3 run to lead by 30 with 5 minutes left in the third. Sullivan scored 10 straight points to cap the run. MHU outscored C-N for the final five minutes of the third, but the lead for the Lady Eagles was still 36 entering the final frame.
C-N committed one turnover in each of the first three quarters.
1⃣0⃣0⃣ points for the fourth time this year
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) February 26, 2026
3⃣6⃣assists to just 6⃣turnovers, the fewest turnovers in a game in at least 25 years
Game-high2⃣3⃣ from @Jennsullivan02
1⃣7⃣three-pointers matches a season-high
Lady Eagles have won three straight@CNwbasketball x #TalonsUp pic.twitter.com/U3F6Ja5vUv
The Lady Eagles used their highest scoring of the night (28) to close out a dominant win. 12 of the first 18 points of the frame went C-N's way to push the lead to 42. A Madelyn Ladd (Harriman, Tenn.) triple helped get the lead to 47, its biggest win of the season.
Basically every statistical category favored C-N. It outrebounded the Lions 52-37 and turned 19 offensive rebounds into 19 second chance points.
Carson-Newman's defense limited MHU to 35 percent shooting and forced 21 turnovers. Those 21 mistakes turned into 26 points for C-N, its third-most points off turnovers in a game this season.
Carson-Newman now readies for its regular season finale versus #18 Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday afternoon. Tip off for Senior Day against the Bears is scheduled for 2:00 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
Mars Hill
| Game Statistics | Mars Hill | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (22-63) | (40-85) |
| Field Goal % | 34.9% | 47.1% |
| Rebounds | 37 | 52 |
| Assists | 14 | 36 |
| Turnovers | 21 | 6 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 7 | 26 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 7 | 19 |
| Pts in the Paint | 24 | 36 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 8 | 28 |
| Bench Pts | 30 | 41 |
