Carson-Newman's Cinderella Run Ends in Elite Eight
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
8 | 15 | 16 | 9 | 48 |
|
|
32 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 96 |
Team Stats
Grand Valley St.
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | Grand Valley St. |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (19-53) | (32-72) |
| Field Goal % | 35.8% | 44.4% |
| Rebounds | 30 | 52 |
| Assists | 9 | 21 |
| Turnovers | 17 | 7 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 3 | 25 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 11 | 32 |
| Pts in the Paint | 22 | 46 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 4 | 8 |
| Bench Pts | 13 | 44 |
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (TheSAC.com) – For the second time in program history, the Carson-Newman Lady Eagles women's basketball team advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, but they ran into defending national champion and overall No. 1 seed Grand Valley State, which proved to be too much in the national quarterfinal. The Lady Eagles fell to the Lakers by a final score of 96-48.
After an opening bucket by Grand Valley State, Emily Gonzalez answered to even the contest at two. From there, the Lakers went on an 11-0 run to take control. Carson-Newman's Keeleigh Rogers ended the run with a jumper to pull within eight at 13-5, but the reigning champs rattled off 19 of the quarter's final 22 points to take a 32-8 advantage after one.
Carson-Newman continued to battle in the second quarter, with back-to-back baskets by Mattie Nuckolls, but the Grand Valley State attack on both ends of the court proved too much. At the half, the Lakers were shooting nearly 50 percent while holding C-N to under 33 percent. Grand Valley State also held a plus-12 advantage on the boards in the first 20 minutes.
Gonzalez led Carson-Newman with 11 points, going 4-of-9 from the field. Nuckolls added 10 points, while Rogers finished with seven points and seven rebounds. Chloe Heath contributed seven points off the bench.
The Eagles advanced to the Elite Eight despite being the No. 5 seed in the Southeast Regional, making a Cinderella run that included wins over Columbus State, Lincoln Memorial and Lenoir-Rhyne, all higher seeds.
This marks the second consecutive season a SAC women's basketball team has advanced to the Elite Eight, as Coker reached this stage in 2024-25. The last time Carson-Newman advanced this far was in 2018, when the Eagles fell to Union (Tenn.), 73-70.