Lady Eagles stroll past Catawba, 93-62
Feb. 25, 2009
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Carson-Newman women's basketball team used a solid defensive performance to cruise past Catawba 93-62 Wednesday night in South Atlantic Conference action at Holt Fieldhouse.
The Lady Eagles held Catawba to 30.4 percent (21-of-69) shooting, including just 12.5 percent (2-of-16) from behind the arc.
"I thought our defensive effort was really good," Lady Eagles coach Dean Walsh said. "Catawba is a great penetration team, and I thought we took away a lot of their gaps and made them turn into jump shooters. I'm really proud of the way our kids defended and really proud of the way they rebounded."
With the win, C-N improves to 18-8 and 9-6 in the SAC. Catawba falls to 15-11 and 7-8 in conference play.
Junior forward Shari Buford (Hampton, Ga.) tallied 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead C-N. Lindsey Eggleston (Buena Vista, Colo.) and Ashley Tipton (Knoxville, Tenn.) chipped in 14 points each for the Lady Eagles, while Ashley Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) netted 11 in the win.
Walsh was pleased with his team's offensive production. It was the 13th time the Lady Eagles have scored more than 90 points this season.
"We did a great job sharing the wealth," Walsh said. "We are a very unselfish team and it showed. We had 21 assists on 34 baskets. That's pretty good."
Nisha Long (Dallas, N.C.) paced the Indians with 14 points, while Dana Hicks (York, S.C.) tossed in 12. Brittany Higgins (Takoma Park, Md.) and Maggie Sullivan (Fort Mill, S.C.) added 10 points each for Catawba.
The Lady Eagles shot 50.7 percent (34-of-67) from the floor, including a 6-for-20 night from 3-point range. C-N also made 19-of-23 (82.6 percent) attempts from the free-throw line, while Catawba went 18-for-20 at the charity stripe.
The Lady Eagles opened the game on a 14-4 run capped by an Angela Volentine (North Platte, Neb.) jumper with 14:13 remaining.
C-N continued to pull away, as Buford converted an old fashion 3-point play at the 7:42 mark to push the Lady Eagles' lead to 34-15.
Kyle knocked down a jumper with 10 seconds left on the clock to give C-N a 46-27 advantage heading into the locker room.
The Lady Eagles took control of the game in the second half, pushing their lead to as much as 35 points on a putback by Tykira McDaniel (Griffin, Ga.) with 4:54 left.
Catawba was unable to cut C-N's lead to below 26 points the rest of the way.
The Lady Eagles return to action on Saturday as they host Wingate in their regular season finale. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.
