Shannon Depew scored 20 points to lead a strong Carson-Newman
frontcourt effort as the Eagles defeated Tusculum College 73-67 in
South Atlantic Conference Women's basketball action at Holt
Fieldhouse Wednesday evening.
Zoriah Williams added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Eagles
(13-8, 7-6 SAC), who outrebounded the Pioneers (15-6, 9-4 SAC) by a
38-36 margin. It was just the fourth time in 21 games that Tusculum
lost the rebounding battle to the opposition.
Alishia Mosley came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points
for the Pioneers, going 5-for-6 from three-point range to help
Tusculum erase a 10-point first-half deficit. But, the Eagles
bounced back after trailing 53-48 with 11 minutes left to snap a
three-game losing streak to the Pioneers.
Whitney Moody also reached double figures for the Eagles with 12
points, and Courdne Miles came off the Carson-Newman bench to tally
nine points, six rebounds and four steals in 21 minutes. The Eagles
shot just 42.9 percent (27-for-63) from the field, but went
6-for-13 from three-point range and connected on 10 of their 14
foul shots in the second half in the victory.
Staci Hicks scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds
for Tusculum, and April McCann added nine points, six rebounds,
five assists and four steals before fouling out late in the second
half. The Pioneers finished the game shooting 40 percent
(22-for-55) from the field but nailed eight three-pointers in 16
attempts.
Depew hit two three-pointers in the first five minutes to help the
Eagles to a quick 15-5 lead. The Pioneers fought back to tie the
game at 26-26 on a three-pointer by Mosley with 7:17 left in the
half. Despite tying the game twice more, Tusculum was unable to
take the lead and Carson-Newman went to halftime with a 37-35
advantage.
Depew led all players with 13 points in the first half, followed
closely by 12 from Williams on 6-for-9 shooting. Mosley paced the
Pioneers with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting, while Hicks added
seven points and six boards.
Tusculum finally gained the lead at 43-42 on a three-pointer by
Kendal Baxter with 16:11 remaining, and a three-pointer from Mosley
gave the Pioneers their biggest lead of the night at 53-48 with
11:29 to go. However, a putback by Miles and a three-pointer from
Depew knotted the score at 53-53 with exactly 10 minutes
remaining.
The Pioneers took their last lead of the night at 56-55 on a layup
by McCann with 9:04 to play, but Williams answered with a putback
of her own miss to restore the Eagles' lead at 57-56 with 8:46 to
go. Moody followed with a three-pointer on Carson-Newman's next
trip, part of a 7-0 run that gave the Eagles a 62-56 lead with 6:30
left.
Tusculum was able to close the deficit to three points twice,
including at 70-67 on a three-pointer by Mosley with 12 seconds
left, but Megan Hunter hit three foul shots in the final eight
seconds to lock up the win for Carson-Newman. Hunter finished
6-for-8 at the stripe for the Eagles, part of a 13-for-18
performance in the game for the hosts.
Baxter finished with eight points and sank a pair of
three-pointers, moving her past former Carson-Newman standout
Ashley Tipton into fourth place on the SAC career three-pointer
list with 223. Tipton made 222 three-pointers for the Eagles from
2005 to 2009.
The Pioneers will be back on the road Saturday when they travel to
Wingate for a SAC matchup beginning at 2:00 p.m.
