( Friday, March 11, 2005 )

NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball South Atlantic Regional Championship (Raleigh , North Carolina)

Carson-Newman Withstands Fayetteville State ’s Hot Starts to Advance

            RALEIGH, NC – Carson-Newman College withstood hot starts by Fayetteville State University in each half and responded with patient runs of its own to capture a 79-67 victory in the opening contest of the 2005 NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball South Atlantic Regional Championship inside C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium on the campus of Shaw University in Raleigh, NC.

            Fayetteville State jumped out to a 23-7 lead, as the Lady Broncos made their first nine shots from the floor, including three from long range, in the first six minutes of the game. Carson-Newman steadily chipped away at the deficit and took its only lead of the first half with 35 seconds left on a put-back by Nicole Avrett to make the score 36-35 in favor of the Lady Eagles at the break.

            FSU stormed out of the locker room again to open the second stanza, as the Lady Broncos took a 50-42 lead when Ashley White hit the second of a pair of free throws at the 12:51 mark. FSU’s cushion was still at eight points (56-48) with less than 10 minutes remaining when CNC answered once again by pounding the ball inside. The Lady Eagles used a 12-4 run to tie the game at 60-60 on a pair of free throws by Giovanni Booker at 6:14 . CNC then closed the game with a 12-1 run to enjoy its largest lead of the afternoon at the final buzzer.

            “We withstood a fury by Fayetteville State to start the game,” said Carson-Newman head coach Dean Walsh. “We could have gotten down about that, but we didn’t. I am proud of them. They hung in there and kept their composure.”

            Carson-Newman (24-7) had three Lady Eagles to score double figures, topped by Brooke Johnson with 22 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field and 10-of-13 shooting from the foul line. Booker added 18 points and a team-best four assists, while Tiffany Parker added 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Lady Eagles.

            The Lady Eagles hit 56.5 percent from the floor in the second half to finish shooting 49 percent on the afternoon, compared to 38.3 percent for Fayetteville State . Carson-Newman out-scored the Lady Broncos 40-24 in the paint.

            Fayetteville State (16-10) was led by Monica Mason with 21 points, followed by Dominique Williams with 12 points and Tiffany Mitchell with 10 points and a game-high six assists.

            Carson-Newman advances to the regional semifinals against the winner of the Newberry College versus Clayton College & State University contest.