Game recaps and notes from around the South Atlantic Conference:

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Lady Eagles split a pair of games last week, defeating Mars Hill but losing to league and region-leading Wingate ... The Carson-Newman College Lady Eagles held the Mars Hill College Lady Lions 13 points below their season scoring average on their way to a 73-65 South Atlantic Conference win Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse. Ashley Tipton, Tashea Ledbetter, and Cassie Burks each fired 13 points to lead a balanced Lady Eagle attack. Senior leaders Giovanni Booker added 11 and Nicole Avrett tossed in 10 apiece for Carson-Newman ... Wingate built a 22-point first half lead and weathered a second half rally to take a 63-47 South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball victory over Carson-Newman College Saturday night in Holt Fieldhouse. Carson-Newman senior forward Giovanni Booker had 11 points for the Lady Eagles and was the only C-N player to finish in double figures. Nicole Avrett led C-N in rebounds as she finished with nine boards ... The loss to Wingate was only the second defeat of the Lady Eagles since 2006 began. Carson-Newman is 6-2 in games played in 2006 ... The Lady Eagles do not have anyone who is averaging in double figures this season. Nicole Avrett leads the team with 9.3 ppg and Giovanni Booker is close behind at 8.6 ppg ... The Lady Eagles force their opponents into 22.5 turnovers per game. Freshman Ashley Tipton is shooting 52 percent (27-52) from three-point range ... The Lady Eagles step out of conference play on Monday night as they face North Greenville at 7 p.m. C-N starts the second half of the SAC season on Saturday, February 4 as they travel to Newberry to face the Lady Indians at 2 p.m.

CATAWBA - The Lady Indians saw their losing streak reach six games with a pair of road losses last week ... The women fell 93-67 at Wingate and 80-60 at Presbyterian ... Catawba saw Wingate hit on 57 percent from the field, while the Lady Indians made just 37 percent in the loss ... Wingate also held a 43-31 edge on the boards ... Hannah Davis scored 22 points for Catawba with Tamekia Foster adding 11 ... Catawba fought back from an 18-point first half deficit at PC and trailed just 66-59 after a three-pointer by Davis with 4:13 left, but the ladies scored just one point the rest of the way ... Catawba shot 37 percent and were just 3-of-21 from three-point range ... PC enjoyed a 45-35 edge on the boards ... Hillary Hampton led the ladies with 16 points, while Foster and Brittany Higgins added 10 each ... Foster added 10 boards to post a double-double ... Catawba is shooting 38.5 percent for the season and are a -5 in rebounding margin ... Davis is scoring 14.3 points per game to lead the squad, while Foster adds 10.8 points and 7.7 rebounds ... The losing streak for the Lady Indians is the longest since a 10-game streak in the mid-80s when Catawba lost the last nine games of the 1984-85 season and the opening game of the 1985-96 campaign ... Catawba invades Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday for its only action of the week.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College women’s basketball team (8-12, 1-6) lost both its road South Atlantic Conference games this week, 75-60 to Newberry in Newberry, S.C., and 73-51 to Tusculum on Saturday afternoon in Greeneville, Tenn. … The Bears now find themselves tied for seventh-place in the league standings with rival Catawba, their next opponent … Against Newberry Wednesday night, the Lady Indians used runs at the end of the first half and just after break en route to the win … Tied at 23 with 5:38 remaining before intermission, Newberry ended the half with a 16-6 run for a 39-29 advantage and a 15-3 run to start the second stanza gave the Lady Indians an insurmountable, 54-32 lead … Lenoir-Rhyne, which trailed by as many as 25, ended the game with a 12-2 run for the 15-point loss … Newberry’s Tonique Frasier spearheaded Newberry’s attack with 17 points and a career-high 22 rebounds … Senior forward Shannon Jones (Warrenton, N.C.) and freshman forward Ashlei Helton (Icard, N.C.) finished with 11 points apiece to lead the Bears, who lost for just sixth time in 24 tries against the Lady Indians … Against Tusculum, the Pioneers scored the first 14 points of the second half to break open a close game (29-28 at halftime) and another 25-4 run later in the period gave Tusculum a 32-point lead (73-41) before L-R scored the final 10 points of the game … The Pioneers with the Bears with 11 three points while Chassity Martin (17 points on seven-of-10 shooting) and Stephany Martin (16 points, eight-of-10 field goals) paced Tusculum’s attack … Jones (12 points and 11 rebounds) was Lenoir-Rhyne’s top scorer but the Bears, as a team, committed 26 turnovers in the game and saw its five-game winning streak against Tusculum snapped ... Jones continues to lead the league in rebounding at 11.2 boards per outing and has scored in double digits 13 straight games and has 11 double-doubles on the year … Helton, meanwhile, has scored in double digits in five of the last six games … Lenoir-Rhyne hosts Catawba in its next South Atlantic Conference contest Saturday at 6 p.m., inside Shuford Gymnasium.

MARS HILL - MHC went 1-1 last week. They lost at Carson-Newman 73-65 before defeating Newberry, 85-80 … MHC is now 13-7 overall and 3-4 in the SAC … Kristi Ferris and Lindsey Jones averaged 20 points per game last week … In the first game of the week, the Carson-Newman College Lady Eagles held the Mars Hill College Lions 13 points below their season scoring average on their way to a 73-65 South Atlantic Conference win Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse … Lindsey Jones (Crossville, Tenn.) led the way for Mars Hill with a game-high 20 points. Kristi Ferris (Knoxville, Tenn) and Abby DeBusk (New Tazewell, Tenn.) contributed 16 and 11 points respectively for the Lions … Booker made a pair of free throws with 16:07 to play in the first half to give C-N a 7-6 lead and spark a 7-0 run … Booker fired four quick points with just under eight minutes to play in the half to start a 9-4 run that left the Lady Eagles up by 11 at halftime … Carson-Newman led by as much as 13 in the second half and made good on 14 of their 18 free throw attempts to hold the lead late in the contest. Mars Hill was 12-14 from the free throw line … In the second game of the week, four Lion players recorded double figures in scoring as Mars Hill College defeated SAC rival Newberry College Saturday afternoon in Stanford Arena, 85-80 … Newberry jumped out to a 16-6 lead with 15:24 left in the first half after Tonya Deese (Newberry, SC) hit a foul shot … MHC then out scored the Indians 23-to-8 over the next 10 minutes of play to take a one-point advantage (29-28) with 5:20 left in the opening period after Abby DeBusk (New Tazewell, TN) hit a foul shot … The Lions would maintain the lead the rest of the way. MHC took a 44-36 lead into the locker room at halftime … MHC then out scored the Indians 23-to-13 to open the second half of play and enjoy their biggest lead of 18 points (67-49) with 11:20 left on the clock after Allison Schafer (Advance, NC) hit a jumper in the key … Newberry refused to die and went on a 31-to-14 run of their own to trim the Lions’ lead to just a single point (81-80) with 28 seconds left in regulation after Deese hit a layup … The Indians were forced to foul and Kristi Ferris (Knoxville, TN) calmly sank a pair of free throws to extend the Lions lead to 83-80 with 21 seconds remaining … Monica Alexander (Norcross, GA) missed a jumper for the Indians the next trip down the floor but Deese pulled in the offensive board … Newberry’s Courtney Snowden (Augusta, GA) was charged with a turnover with seven seconds left to play and the Indians fouled DeBusk who sank a couple of shots at the charity stripe with two seconds on the clock to seal the win … Ferris led all scorers with 25 points followed by Lindsey Jones with 20 … DeBusk added 19 while Katie Davis (Harriman, TN) rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Lions with 11 … Ferris and Jones each recorded seven rebounds while DeBusk had four rebounds and three assists … MHC scored 18 points off 15 Indian turnovers and hit 77.3 percent (17-22) of their foul shots in the contest … The Indians won the rebound battle 44-to-34 and scored 44 points in the paint … Newberry could not draw iron from behind the arc as they were 0-7 from 3-point range … MHC will take the week off before hosting Presbyterian College on Saturday at 2 p.m.

NEWBERRY - Newberry had a 1-1 week, topping Lenoir-Rhyne and dropping a close game at Mars Hill ... Newberry put together two dominant halves on the glass in their 75-60 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne tonight at Eleazer Arena. The Lady Indians were aided by four players with double-digit scoring, along with a career rebounding performance by sophomore Tonique Frasier ... Newberry grabbed a 5-4 lead early in the game and never looked back as they didn’t trail for the remainder of the game. Lenoir-Rhyne responded with several small runs, including a 10-6 spurt deadlocking the score at 23 with 5:38 to go. The Lady Indians answered with a run of their own, reeling off a 16-6 surge to cap the half, leaving them a 10-point cushion to work with heading into the final stanza. Frasier pulled down 12 of her career-high 22 rebounds in the opening half ... To start the second, the Lady Indians picked up right where they left off in the first half. Newberry’s aggressive defense helped balloon the lead to 22, 54-32, with 15:27 to go. Lenoir-Rhyne was held to just three points in nearly five minutes of action. Frasier paced the Lady Indians with her 17-point, 22-rebound performance, while Monica Alexander, Wright, and Laura Marquardt each added 16, 14, and 11, respectively. Senior Tonya Deese chipped in eight points and eight rebounds, while Alexander dished a game-high seven assists. Newberry out-rebounded the Bears 46-34 on the game ... Four Lady Indians scored 12 or more points, led by Ashlee Wright’s career high 19, but Newberry was unable to overcome an 18-point deficit as they fell at Mars Hill 85-80 Saturday afternoon. Tonya Deese had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for Newberry while Monica Alexander had a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists. Tonique Frasier added 12 points for the Indians’ effort ... Newberry jolted out to a 10-point lead in the first five minutes of the game but Mars Hill spent most of the next 10 minutes slowly chipping away at the Newberry lead before taking the lead at the 5:50 mark of the first period. Mars Hill continued to set the pace in the rest of the first half, taking a 44-36 halftime lead into the locker room ... Mars Hill led by as much as 18 in the second half before Newberry began to slowly even the score. An 11-2 run late by Newberry pulled the Lady Indians within one point at 81-80, but Newberry was unable to seal the deal and did not score again as free throws doomed Newberry late after turning over the ball with 1.5 seconds left in the game ... Newberry steps back from conference action to host Converse College on Wed., Feb. 1 at 7 p.m., in Eleazer Arena.

PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian College improved to 17-3 overall and 6-1 in the South Atlantic Conference to remain in a first place tie atop the league standings. The Lady Blue Hose defeated Tusculum College 69-65 on the road this past Wednesday, and defeated Catawba College 80-60 at home on Saturday ... PC’s 17 wins is the most since the 2001-02 season, when the Lady Blue Hose posted a 21-9 record ... Presbyterian College hit four straight free throws in the final :07 seconds to hold off the Tusculum Pioneers 69-65 this past Wednesday night. Freshman center Sharie Hopkins notched her fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while senior forward Wesley Campbell added a double-double of her own with 11 points and 10 boards. Senior forward Rebecca Wessinger added 10 points and five assists on the night, while sophomore guard Amy Jones added eight points, seven rebounds, and four assists ... Presbyterian College placed four players in double figures led by Rebecca Wessinger’s game-high 17 points and three assists en route to a 80-60 victory over Catawba College at home this past Saturday. Freshman Sharie Hopkins added 15 points and eight boards, while senior Wesley Campbell notched her second double-double of the week with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Amy Jones continued her solid all-around play with 10 points, eight assists, five boards, three steals, and one blocked shot. PC shot 46.4 percent from the floor and hit 25-of-34 free throws in the victory, while holding Catawba to 36.9 percent shooting for the game ... Defensively, PC is allowing only 62.5 ppg and hold a +10.6 rebound advantage this season. When PC holds its opponents to under 67 points, they are 14-1 this season. PC on offense has six players averaging atleast 7.8 ppg and eight players are averaging at least minutes per game ... Sophomore guard Amy Jones has come into her own this season. The native of Warthen, Ga., is averaging 10.2 ppg, 4.3 apg, 4.7 rpg, 1.6 spg, 0.8 bpg, while shooting 38.4 percent from the field, 35 percent from three-point range, and 76.3 percent from the free throw line. She ranks in nine different statistical categories in the latest South Atlantic Conference statistics ... Freshman center Sharie Hopkins is becoming an impact player for the Lady Blue Hose this season. Hopkins is averaging 10.11.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg, 0.9 spg, while shooting 63.6 percent from the floor. She has improved her statistical averages in league play by averaging 15.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 1.0 spg, 1.0 bpg, and shooting 62.3 percent form the floor ... Wessinger leads the team in scoring (15.2 ppg), and is fifth in rebounds (4.4 rpg), while shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 76.4 percent from the line. She currently has 1,252 career points which ranks 9th in program history. She recently passed former All-SAC standout, Billie Haskins (2001-04) who taliled 1,249 career points. She needs 14 points to move into eighth place and pass former All-SAC standout Jill Neumann (1996-2000) who tallied 1,265 career points ... Senior center Cameron Cook continues her move up the program’s career rebounding chart. Cook, a native of Greensboro, N.C., currently ranks 11th in program history with 553 career rebounds. She needs three more rebounds to move into 10th place and pass Adrienne Singleton (1982-85) who tallied 555 career boards ... PC travels to Mars Hill, N.C. on Saturday, February 4 to take on the Lions of Mars Hill College at 2:00 pm to open the second half of the league schedule.

TUSCULUM - Tusculum split a pair of SAC games last week, dropping a 69-65 decision to Presbyterian on Wednesday and defeating Lenoir-Rhyne 73-51 on Saturday… The Pioneers’ win over L-R snapped a three-game losing skid… Tusculum capitalized on stingy defense against Lenoir-Rhyne, scoring 28 points off 26 L-R turnovers. TC posted a season-high 19 steals in the contest… Tusculum led by only one point (29-28) at the half, but scored the first 14 points of the second half en route to out-scoring the Bears 44-23 in the final period… Junior Chassity Martin paced TC with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field… Freshman Stephany Neptune tallied 14 of her 16 points in the second half. Neptune connected on 8-of-10 attempts from the floor and also collected seven steals in the contest… Freshman Ashli Oliver scored 15 points, with all of them coming behind the arc… In Wednesday’s loss to PC, Martin again led all Pioneer scorers with 19 points… Oliver chipped in 15 points, with all of them coming from three-point range… Neptune narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine boards… Senior Amber Redding recorded seven steals against the Lady Blue Hose, tying her career high… In both games combined, junior point guard Brooke Underwood amassed 20 assists, with nine coming against PC and 11 versus L-R. Underwood has recorded 165 assists this season (9.2 per game) and currently ranks fourth among TC’s single-season assist leaders. In last week’s NCAA statistics, she maintained her second-place ranking in Division II with an average of 9.1 assists per contest… Having poured in 30 points from beyond the arc in last week’s games, Oliver has established a new school single-season record with 66 three-point field goals. She surpasses the previous single-season mark of 54 three-pointers, which was established by Lanna Owens in 1991-92. Oliver remains one of the most prolific three-point shooters in Division II, ranking third in the nation with an average of 3.5 treys per game… Chassity Martin is also making her way up the single-season three-point list, having made 51 treys, which currently ranks fourth. A week ago, Martin weighed in at No. 22 in the country with an average of 2.7 three-pointers per outing… As a team, the Pioneers also set a new TC single-season record with 176 three-point field goals. The previous team single-season mark belonged to last season’s squad, which notched 171 threes. Tusculum is ranked second in Division II in three-point field goals per game…The Pioneers will next face Wingate on Saturday when they travel to Cuddy Arena. Wingate won the first meeting 82-72 in the league opener at Pioneer Arena.

WINGATE - The Bulldogs had a busy week, as the team picked up three wins in six days. Wingate is the number one team in the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Region, NCAA officials announced last Wednesday ... On Saturday, Wingate built a 22-point first half lead and weathered a second half rally to take a 63-47 South Atlantic Conference women’s basketball victory over Carson-Newman College in Holt Fieldhouse ... Four players hit double digits for Wingate at Carson-Newman. Senior forward Shannon Proffit led all scorers with 14 points. Junior forward Emily Paffrath had another solid game with 12 points, four rebounds and a game-high four blocked shots ... Wingate junior guard Tanetra Barrett netted 11 points, while freshman point guard Anna Atkinson had 10 points, five rebounds and three steals. The Bulldogs took a 45-25 at intermission. Wingate outrebounded the Carson-Newman 27-13 in the opening frame, including a 12-3 advantage on the offensive glass ... A three-pointer by sophomore guard Kate Edwards put Wingate up 33-11 with 7:51 remaining in the first half. Carson-Newman went five minutes without a field goal in the first 20 minutes, as Wingate built a 15-6 edge into a 26-9 advantage ... Carson-Newman cut the lead to12 at 49-37 with 14:32 remaining in the contest. Wingate called time-out and put together a 9-0 flurry to take a 58-37 lead on two free throws by junior guard Petra Nagy with 8:30 to play. Carson-Newman would get no closer than the final score the rest of the way ... Wingate won the battle of the boards 45-34 at Carson-Newman. Seven Bulldogs had four, five or six rebounds, led by junior forward Kerri Metzker with six caroms ... Barrett had 20 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 93-67 SAC victory over Catawba College Wednesday night in Cuddy Arena. Edwards tossed in 12 of her 14 points in the opening half to stake the Bulldogs to a 45-36 edge at the break ... Catawba was never within single digits in the second half as Wingate grabbed a 15-point lead at 55-40 at the 15:53 mark on a three-point play by Barrett. The Bulldogs would increase their edge to 28 points in the final minutes ... Wingate canned 57.4 percent of its field goal attempts to only 37 percent for the Indians. The Bulldogs made only 10 turnovers. Wingate also held a 43-31 edge on the boards ... Thirteen players dressed and 13 players scored for the Wingate University women’s basketball team Monday evening in an 86-59 NCAA Division II victory over Converse College in Cuddy Arena ... Four Bulldogs hit double digits in the win. Edwards led the way with 15 points off the Wingate bench. Paffrath had 13 points and a game-high six blocked shots. Barrett and Metzker contributed 11 points each for the hosts ... The number one team in the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Region, the Bulldogs are 15-5 overall and 6-1 in the SAC. Wingate is tied for first in the league standings with Presbyterian College. Tusculum visits Wingate Saturday for a 2 p.m. SAC afternoon matinee.