Defense lifts Lady Eagles past Newberry
Jan. 31, 2009
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Carson-Newman women's basketball team used a solid defensive effort to pull out a 68-64 win over Newberry in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday at Holt Fieldhouse.
The Lady Eagles trailed 62-61 with 2:43 remaining before a Mandy Mendenhall (Kingston Springs, Tenn.) jumper sparked a 7-2 C-N run to close out the game. C-N held Newberry to 37.5 percent (24-of-64) shooting on the night, including just two made baskets over the final five minutes and 19 seconds of the contest.
The 64 points allowed are the fewest C-N has given up this season.
"This is the first time all year that I can say we have won a game because of our defense," C-N coach Dean Walsh said. "The key is we held them to 37.5 percent shooting, and that was the bottom line."
With the win, C-N improves to 15-5 overall and 6-3 in the SAC. Newberry falls to 13-7 on the season and 6-3 in conference play.
Senior forward Ashley Tipton (Knoxville, Tenn.) paced the Lady Eagles with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Ashley Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and Mendenhall chipped in 12 points each, while Shari Buford (Hampton, Ga.) added eight points and eight rebounds for C-N.
Laura Marquardt tossed in 16 points to lead Newberry, while Anita Bulcher finished with 15 points and Monica Alexander added 12. Sade Coates tallied nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss.
C-N shot 45.5 percent (20-of-44) from the field, including a 7-for-10 effort from behind the arc. The Lady Eagles made 21-of-32 free throw attempts, while Newberry was 10-for-15 at the charity stripe.
"We didn't shoot the ball well and we missed way too many key free throws," said Walsh, whose team turned the ball over 23 times. "There were a lot of things offensively that we did poor enough to get us beat, but our defense came through to win this one tonight."
Newberry held the advantage on the boards by outrebounding C-N 40-32, including 19 offensive rebounds.
The first half went back and forth with the lead changing hands five times. The Lady Eagles opened the game on a 10-3 run capped by a Tipton 3-pointer with 15:23 remaining.
Newberry scrapped back with a 10-2 run to take the lead at 13-12 on a trey by Keisha Henderson at the 13:16 mark.
C-N later went back in front at 19-18 on a 3-pointer by Mendenhall with 9:24 left on the clock, but Marquardt answered with a three for Newberry to give it the lead back at 21-19 with 8:44 left.
A Kyle 3-pointer at the 4:43 mark gave C-N the lead for the rest of the half at 27-26. The Lady Eagles outscored Newberry 13-8 to close out the half to take a 40-34 lead heading into the locker room.
The Lady Eagles quickly pushed their lead to 10 at 44-34 to open the second half after another 3-pointer by Tipton and a made free throw by Angela Volentine (North Platte, Neb.)
However, Newberry turned the intensity up on both ends of the floor and responded with a 15-3 run to take a 49-47 lead on a layup by Bulcher with 9:30 remaining.
The lead then switched hands six more times before Mendenhall's jumper with 2:17 remaining gave the Lady Eagles the lead for good at 63-62.
C-N will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 7 in a SAC matchup at Mars Hill. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
