WISE - - After missing the first half due to a conference-imposed suspension, Carson-Newman forward Lindsay Taylor erupted for 27 second half points on 12-of-14 shooting to lead the Lady Eagles to an 81-64 South Atlantic Conference women's basketball victory over UVA Wise at the Prior Center Wednesday.

Carson-Newman (7-2, 5-1 SAC) entered intermission holding a 34-32 advantage before Taylor was inserted into the lineup. The 6-foot-2 junior immediately made her presence felt as she netted 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the third quarter. Taylor's performance aided the Lady Eagles to 27 third quarter points but, the lead only moved to four points thanks to a 25-point showing from UVA Wise (3-6, 3-4 SAC) in the stanza.

Junior guard Caitlyn Ross spurred the Cavalier effort in the quarter as she scored 14 of her team-high 18 points in the period. UVA Wise was also proficient from the charity stripe during the 10-minute stretch, connecting on all 10 free throw attempts.

The visitors switched to a zone in the fourth quarter and in addition to Taylor's play it put the game away. The Cavaliers connected on just 3-of-14 fourth quarter field goal attempts while Taylor added 13 more points to lead Carson-Newman to victory.

In the first half, Lady Eagles Braelyn Wykle, Campbell Penland and Addison Byrd paced the offense. Wykle, the reigning SAC Player of the Year, scored 11 of her 15 points in the half while Campbell netted 10 of her 17 in the opening 20 minutes and Byrd scored 10 of her 14 points in the stretch.

UVA Wise saw junior guard Jaymi Golden net 10 of her 12 points in the first half while Kalee Johnson scored nine of her 11 points in that half to keep the Cavs within a deuce at intermission.

Carson-Newman controlled the paint in the win, the Lady Eagles won the battle of the boards 48-to-37 and outscored the Cavs 34-to-22 in the paint.

Nia Vanzant continued her stretch of scoring in double-figures as she finished with 11 points in the loss.

UVA Wise will be off Saturday before returning to the court next Wednesday at Lincoln Memorial University. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m. from Harrogate, Tenn. and fans can hear the action live on FM 92.5 WLSD (wlsdradio.com)