Women's Basketball Defeated By Carson-Newman: Chavis Scores 1,000th Career Point

JEFFERSON CITY, TENN. -  The Mars Hill women's basketball team was dealt an 88-61 defeat at the hands of Carson-Newman on Wednesday evening inside of the Holt Fieldhouse. The Lions are now 4-17 overall and 2-13 within the South Atlantic Conference, while C-N improves to 14-7 overall and 10-5 in the league.

Paige Chavis led the Lions with a team-high 15 points, while Aliyah Farmer and Madison Ervin tallied 14 and 10 points, respectively. Jenny Edwards contributed a solid performance with eight points and a game-high nine rebounds, four of the offensive variety. As a collective group, Mars Hill shot 39.3% from the floor (22-56) and 31.3% (5-16) from long range. The Lions were able to knock down 12-of-13 from the charity stripe, while holding a 39-34 advantage on the boards.

Kailyn Brooks led the Eagles with a game-high 22 points and teammate Mika Wester eclipsed the 20-point plateau with 21 on the evening. Carson-Newman connected on 47.4% (36-76) of its shots, including 12 three-pointers. Turnovers were a major part of the contest as the Eagles committed only eight miscues, while forcing 24 against the Lions.

Following a layup by Farmer Carson-Newman reeled off 10 straight points to take a 10-2 lead at the 5:56 mark of the opening quarter. Chavis put an end to the run with a basket at the 5:03 mark, and with that basket, eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for her career. However, a 7-0 spurt over the next minute and a half ballooned the lead to double-digits (17-4) en route to a 25-12 lead after one for the home team.

The second quarter was more evenly contested. Carson-Newman gained its largest lead of the first half (28-12) following a shot from long range before an 11-5 run by the Lions narrowed the deficit to 33-23 with 4:33 left in the opening half of play. An 8-4 spread over the remainder of the second sent the Eagles to the locker room with a 41-27 advantage.

C-N was able to increase its lead to 52-35 before Mars Hill ripped off eight-straight to cut the score to single-digits (52-43). However, that would be as close as the Lions would get as the Eagles gained distance with the three-ball, leading by as many as 29 (88-59) on their way to an 88-61 victory.

The Lions will return to Stanford Arena on Saturday, February 4 as they play host to the Newberry Wolves. Tipoff for that contest is scheduled for 2 p.m.