Carson-Newman Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles basketball team (14-10, 8-9 South Atlantic Conference) will welcome the Wingate Bulldogs (13-14, 7-10 South Atlantic Conference) for Senior Day and Parents Day at Holt Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.

The Lady Eagles are coming off a 60-59 win at Catawba last Wednesday, and earlier this season beat Wingate 49-46 on Feb. 2 in Wingate, N.C.

"You want to send your seniors out with a win," said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. "Hopefully we can get a lot of people in the stands and its nice to have most parents of the players here and to honor them, honor their daughters, and certainly our seniors. Hopefully we can play well on senior day with this being the last game these seniors play at Holt Fieldhouse, hopefully we can get a big win."

Seniors Nikki James, Whitney Moody, and Courdne Miles will be recognized prior to the game for their years of dedication to the Carson-Newman women's basketball program.

Against Catawba, freshman Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) scored a career-high 24 points; knocking down a season-best six three-pointers as the Lady Eagles earned their first win in Goodman Gymnasium since Jan. 21, 2006.  Burstrom was joined in double-figures by senior Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) and junior Shyra Clark (Cleveland, Tenn.) as both players added 11 points for the Carson-Newman cause as the Lady Eagles ended a season-long three game losing streak.

Carson-Newman won the first matchup at Wingate 49-46 on Feb. 2 at Cuddy Arena. Carson-Newman was led in scoring by two players with 10 points: Courdne Miles (Burlington, N.C.) and Takyah Gilmore (Alcoa, Tenn.). Gilmore scored eight of her 10 points in the first half, providing a spark off the bench for the Lady Eagles.

In the second half, Carson-Newman went on a 14-3 run to grow the lead to 42-34 with 6:44 left in the game. Wingate would bounce back in the late minutes, cutting Carson-Newman's lead to four points with 1:05 remaining. The lead would go as small as two points in the final minute, yet the Lady Eagles hit crucial foul shots down the stretch to escape with the three-point victory.

Wingate is 7-10 in the South Atlantic Conference this season, and the Bulldogs have lost two of their last three games. Wingate did post a 77-73 win at Brevard this past Wednesday. Janitsha Williams leads the Bulldogs in scoring by averaging 13.2 points per game, while senior forward Chantal Dunbar averages a double-double with her 11.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

Coverage of the game is available on the Coca-Cola Eagle Sports Network, beginning with the Farm Bureau Countdown to Tipoff at 1:45 p.m. and the broadcast is also available on www.cneagles.com.