Efficient scoring moves C-N past No. 12 Columbus State
HARROGATE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman’s (22-10) second-most efficient game of the season came at the perfect time. The Lady Eagles used 54.4 percent shooting to collect a wire-to-wire 85-73 win over four-seeded #12 Columbus State (25-5) on Friday night at Tex Turner Arena.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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23 | 26 | 17 | 19 | 85 |
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18 | 12 | 18 | 25 | 73 |
VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference
HARROGATE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman's (22-10) second-most efficient game of the season came at the perfect time. The Lady Eagles used 54.4 percent shooting to collect a wire-to-wire 85-73 win over four-seeded #12 Columbus State (25-5) on Friday night at Tex Turner Arena.
The Lady Eagles have now won an NCAA Tournament game each of the past three seasons. The win over the 12th-ranked Cougars is C-N's fourth ranked win this season and just the program's second ranked win at the NCAA Tournament.
"I thought we played very well in the first half and defensively we played well," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "We tried to take away the paint as best we could. We knew with Columbus State's pace and their platooning that we could not rely on five, six or seven players. I knew we were going to have to trust the bench and I thought we got great production out of it."
It took a balanced effort for the Lady Eagles to achieve their 54.4 percent shooting mark, but two junior forwards stood out the most. Mattie Nuckolls (Chatsworth, Ga.) led all scorers with 27 points on 10 of 12 shooting with 10 rebounds, while Keeleigh Rogers snared down a team-high 12 boards to pair with 10 points and flirted with a triple-double by leading the team with seven assists. For Rogers, it was her fourth double-double of the year and it was Nuckolls' third. They are the first Lady Eagles duo with a double-double in the same game since Rogers and Lindsey Taylor did it January 2024 against LMU.
"They were huge," Mincey said. "To see Nucks' development is just remarkable, the way she has to play the five which is a tall task on the defensive end. When you can utilize her in and out presence effectively, it is pretty special. Keeleigh has been rebounding all year long. Those two's effort was great to see."
Offensively, Carson-Newman got a major lift from Karli Haworth (Maryville, Tenn.) off the bench. The junior guard erupted for 14 points on five of six shooting in just 13 minutes. She lead a bench scoring effort that produced 25 points.
Emily Gonzalez (Lenoir City, Tenn.) was C-N's fourth and final double-digit scorer for the night, scoring 12 points and dishing out six assists.
Carson-Newman's offense was in rhythm from the get go. Four different Lady Eagles scored in the first three minutes to help them jump out to a seven-point lead. CSU brought it to within one just two minutes later, but C-N used an 8-0 scoring run to gain a five-point lead after one frame.
It was the Nuckolls show to start the second quarter. The first eight points for C-N in the quarter came from the junior, who capped off her scoring surge with a three-point play to increase the lead to nine. Haworth's sharpshooting would lift C-N the rest of the first half. She drilled three triples and scored 11 of C-N's final 18 points in the half to push the lead all the way out to 19 at intermission.
The Lady Eagles would keep Columbus State more than arm's length away in the third quarter. Another Nuckolls' and-one ballooned the lead out to 25, just four minutes into the second half. The Cougars got as close as 18 and that was their deficit entering the final frame.
Columbus State's run came early in the fourth. They scored 15 points in less than four minutes, which included an 8-0 scoring run to make it a 10-point game with six minutes remaining. Carson-Newman had an answer. Rogers buried a C-N's tenth triple and a Gonzalez layup increased the advantage quickly back to 15.
"I think our team is battle-tested," Mincey said. "If you've played in our conference all year long you have to be battle-tested because four of the top teams in our region are in the conference. We've had adversity and everything you could've imagined to find ourselves back in the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament."
CSU did get back within nine with 2:44 left, but Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored four of her six points in the final minutes to help C-N hold on for the double-digit win.
For a third straight season, the Eagles have an NCAA tourament win. C-N knocks out the 12th-ranked team in the country
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 14, 2026
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Carson-Newman paired its great shooting performance with excellent defense. It held the Peach Belt regular season champions to 29 percent shooting in the opening half and just 33 percent shooting for the day. CSU attempted 15 more shots than C-N, but C-N made seven more.
5⃣4⃣percent shooting
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) March 14, 2026
8⃣th game of the year shooting 50% or better
Game-high 2⃣7⃣for @MattieNuckolls5 @keeleighrogers flirts with a triple-double
The Lady Eagles have an NCAA Tournament win for the third straight season✅@CNwbasketball x #TalonsUp pic.twitter.com/ge2ZP05WvJ
Despite allowing the Cougars to hold a +10 advantage on the offensive glass, the Lady Eagles outrebounded CSU 40-35 for the game. It was just the fifth time this season CSU was outrebounded in a game, and it lost all five of those games.
The Lady Eagles poured in double-digit three-pointers for the 12th time this season, making 10 of their 28 in the game. Haworth and Nuckolls combined to shoot seven of ten from distance.
Two freshmen gave C-N great minutes off the bench. Cybil Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) snared down nine rebounds, including five of the team's eight offensive rebounds and scored five points. Chloe Heath (Maryville, Tenn.) contributed six points on three of four shooting in just seven minutes on the floor.
Carson-Newman moves into the NCAA Southeast Regional Semifinals on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. against the top-seed #15 Lincoln Memorial. Tip off between fifth-seeded Carson-Newman and top-seeded and fifteenth-ranked Lincoln Memorial from Tex Turner Arena in Harrogate, Tennessee is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Coverage on Friday with the Eagle Sports Network begins at 7:15 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
#12 Columbus St.
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | #12 Columbus St. |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (31-57) | (24-72) |
| Field Goal % | 54.4% | 33.3% |
| Rebounds | 40 | 35 |
| Assists | 21 | 11 |
| Turnovers | 19 | 12 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 13 | 20 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 7 | 24 |
| Pts in the Paint | 34 | 34 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 8 | 12 |
| Bench Pts | 25 | 29 |
