Lions lose to No. 5 Carson-Newman at home

MARS HILL, N.C. – The Mars Hill women's basketball team lost Wednesday evening in Stanford Arena to No. 5 Carson-Newman by a score of 106-48.

Carson-Newman dominated the first 10 minutes, including a 19-0 run in the first six minutes of the frame. Kayla Marosites drained three 3-pointers to have nine points during the stretch. A pair of free throws by Jewel Walston ended the offensive drought with just under three minutes remaining in the first period. The Eagles would respond with six straight points to extend their lead to 27-5 in the final two minutes.

The Lions trailed 32-10 entering the second stanza. Doubling up Mars Hill in the frame, Carson-Newman extended their lead to 33 points. Marosites picked up where she left off in the first frame by adding six more points to her totals. Mariah Johnson had five to lead the Lions.

Johnson had a team-high eight points entering the half along with three rebounds. Marosites had 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting in the first half, including four made 3-pointers while collecting eight rebounds. Mika Wester chipped in 12 points, shooting 6-of-7 from the field.

The Eagles scored 12 of the first 17 points in the first five minutes of the third period to establish a 40 point lead. Following the media timeout, Carson-Newman strung together a 10-0 run before a 3-pointer from Mariah Johnson put that to a halt. Kelci Marosites answered back with a three of her own to regain the 50 point lead.

In the final 10 minutes of the game, the Lions put up the most points in a quarter they had all contest with 15, led by Johnson and Valeriya Pokrovskaya's four each. Carson-Newman's Madison Bunch accounted for 13 of the Eagles' 23 fourth period points, knocking down three from beyond the arc to help coast to a 106-48 victory.

Six Eagles finished with double-digits in scoring, highlighted by Bunch's 19 and Kayla Marosites' 18, respectively. Marosites pulled down 13 rebounds for the double-double. Mariah Johnson scored 20 to lead all players. Pokrovskaya had 10 to match a career-high.

Mars Hill falls to 1-19 (0-12 SAC) while the fifth-ranked Eagles soar to a 19-1 (11-1 SAC) record.

The Lions return to action Saturday afternoon with a contest against Newberry. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip-off.