ANDERSON, S.C. - Four Trojans reached double figures and the Anderson women's basketball team opened a two-game homestand by posting a pair of second-half outbursts to top Carson-Newman, 78-69, in South Atlantic Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Abney Athletic Center.

Anderson (7-9, 3-5 SAC), which tallied its highest offensive output of the season en route to snapping a seven-game skid, handed the Eagles their second consecutive setback. With the loss Carson-Newman (6-12, 2-6 SAC) has dropped seven of its last eight contests.

Both teams started slowly, committing eight miscues in the opening three minutes, but the Trojans connected on five of their first six shots and took their first lead of the contest, at 9-8, on a fast break layup by sophomore guard Alissa Diaz at the 15:54 mark.

Anderson's first run of the afternoon, an 11-3 surge that was ignited by sophomore Tilde Ahlin's first 3-pointer of the season, turned a four-point deficit into a four-point lead for AU. The Trojans' Ashley Abed added four points during the outburst, but Carson-Newman quickly evened the score on its next two possessions and neither team was able to build more than a six-point advantage over the remainder of the half. Ahlin drained her second trey of the opening 20 minutes late in the frame and AU held a 27-26 edge at intermission.

Carson-Newman's Mandy Mendenhall scored on the opening possession of the second half, giving the Eagles their first lead since midway through the first half and C-N pushed out to a pair of six-point leads over the next four minutes.

But Anderson responded with a 15-3 outburst, fueled by Amanda Parris' five points and guard Alexa Neal's four. Sophomore Maci Siniard's jumper in the lane with 13:23 left in the contest gave AU a lead it would not relinquish, as AU pushed out to an eight-point cushion midway through the final half.

Carson-Newman trimmed the Trojans' advantage to 44-41, but would get no closer as AU countered with a 12-3 run to build a double-digit lead with 8:51 on the clock.

The two teams combined for 41 turnovers on the afternoon, with the Trojans shooting a season-high 53.8 percent. AU held a 39-31 rebounding edge over the Eagles, while C-N shot 34.4 percent for the game.

Abed netted a game-high 19 points on the strength of 5-of-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 from the line, while Parris added 13 points - all in the second half - by connecting on all four field goal attempts. Ahlin tallied 12 points and recorded a team-high eight rebounds. Neal chipped in 11 points and Diaz dished out a game-high five assists on the afternoon.

Carson-Newman was led by the trio of Katlin Moore, Zoriah Williams and Courdne Miles, who tallied 14 points apiece, with Williams garnering a game-high 10 rebounds.
Mendenhall notched 11 points for the Eagles.

Anderson will look to build momentum on Wednesday, when the Wingate Bulldogs invade the Abney Center for a mid-week league matchup. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.