Nuckolls’ career day leads to 73-67 semifinal win over Anderson
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman junior forward Mattie Nuckolls poured in a career-high 29 points to push the Lady Eagles (21-9) past eighth-seeded Anderson (13-17) 73-67 in the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference Women’s Basketball Championships.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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20 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 67 |
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24 | 14 | 22 | 13 | 73 |
VIDEO: Mattie Nuckolls Interview
VIDEO: Jennifer Sullivan Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman junior forward Mattie Nuckolls poured in a career-high 29 points to push the Lady Eagles (21-9) past eighth-seeded Anderson (13-17) 73-67 in the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Championships.
The win moves Carson-Newman into the South Atlantic Conference Championship game for the ninth time in program history. It's the third championship game appearance in the past five years and the second in the last three seasons.
"Proud of our team and Nuckolls had a fantastic day," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "All five starters had to because that's all we played in the second half. Nuckolls' performance was unreal and of course Jenn pitches in with 21 and Delaney gets 12. Really proud of our defensive effort, we were on put and dialed in on how to guard them. Got scary there at the end, but anytime you can win a semifinal game and get to the championship game it's pretty special."
The first half featured four ties and seven lead changes, with C-N's seven-point second quarter lead being the biggest margin of the opening half. The Trojans tied the score at intermission by scoring seven of the final nine second quarter points to level the score at intermission.
Anderson took a two-point lead with 3:31 to play in the third, C-N then rattled off a 12-0 run to lead by seven entering the fourth. Nuckolls scored 10 of the 12 points during the run.
The Lady Eagles led by as many as 13 in the fourth quarter, but went cold offensively. C-N did not make a field goal in the final seven minutes, but used free throws and defense to seal the six-point win. AU only made six baskets in the final six minutes and they were all two-point field goals.
Carson-Newman's starting five of Mattie Nuckolls, Emily Gonzalez, Jennifer Sullivan, Keeleigh Rogers and Delaney Weddington played the entire second half and all made major contributions.
Nuckolls had a career-performance at the best time. The junior scored 29 points on seven of 13 shooting, drilling a career-high four triples in the win. 17 of her 29 points came in the second half. Her 29 points are the most by a Lady Eagle at the SAC Tournament since Braelyn Wykle's 29 points versus Lincoln Memorial in the quarterfinal round in 2021.
"I was just trying to be there for my team," Nuckolls said. "I knew they were going to try and rotate around the arc a lot, with their guards especially. It's not just me getting buckets, it's the team. I thought we did a good job of getting to the foul line today. I think that was a lot of my game today and gave me some fuel."
Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) recorded her 15th 20-point game of the year, dropping 21 with three made triples. On the defensive end, she drew the matchup of Ciara Harris. Sullivan's defense limited this year's conference newcomer of the year to just 12 points on four of 17 shooting.
"Jenn is a very physical on-ball defender," Mincey said. "That is what you need against a player like Harris. If we want to try and put someone on the ball that is also a high-level scorer, Jenn is going to be the one that we give that matchup to. She is good with ball pressure and defends the ball screens well. Jenn is a special player and we are going to enjoy having her for the remaining games we have."
Weddington continues earn big minutes and impressed her first career start.. For the second straight game and third time in the past four games, the freshman matched her career-high with 12 points and came up a rebound shy of a double-double.
Gonzalez was the only Lady Eagle to play all 40 minutes and dished out a team-high five assists.
Rogers snared down double-digit rebounds for the third straight game and for the 11th time this season.
Career-high 2⃣9⃣ on a career-high 4⃣threes for @MattieNuckolls5
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 6, 2026
Season-high 2⃣1⃣made free throws
1⃣5⃣th 20-point game for @Jennsullivan02 @delaneyw07 matches her career-high with 1⃣2⃣
Lady Eagles will play for the @SAC_Athletics title��@CNwbasketball x #TalonsUp pic.twitter.com/Q8vy9JHJRl
Carson-Newman picked a good time to attempt and make its most free throws in a game this season. The Lady Eagles made 21 of their 26 foul shots, and outscored AU by 11 at the line.
The Lady Eagles committed five more turnovers than the Trojans, but scored more points off turnovers. C-N turned seven AU mistakes into 13 points, while AU converted C-N's 12 mistakes into just seven points.
To. The. ��️
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 6, 2026
�� @cnwbasketball 70
⚔️ Anderson 65
FINAL
��Talk 106.3
��https://t.co/zfn941bqpj @FloCollegeHoops
��https://t.co/gipZ7woHxo
��https://t.co/hiIvfnQa8x
��https://t.co/XemTiZYO4i pic.twitter.com/OvlxUCgm7l
Four-seeded Carson-Newman will play two-seeded Coker in the title game. Tomorrow's South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Championship game begins at 1. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 12:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A live stream of the contest is available with a subscription to FloSports. A live camera of the broadcast crew "On Press Row" will also be available on YouTube.
Team Stats
Anderson (S.C.)
| Game Statistics | Anderson (S.C.) | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (25-67) | (22-55) |
| Field Goal % | 37.3% | 40.0% |
| Rebounds | 33 | 42 |
| Assists | 14 | 13 |
| Turnovers | 7 | 12 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 7 | 13 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 8 | 7 |
| Pts in the Paint | 30 | 22 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 2 | 2 |
| Bench Pts | 19 | 0 |
