Carson-Newman Game Notes - Tusculum Home

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (2-1, 0-0) women's basketball team will begin their 2013-14 South Atlantic Conference schedule by hosting their in-state rivals the Tusculum Pioneers (0-1, 0-0) at Holt Fieldhouse on Wednesday night at 6 p.m.

The conference opener for Carson-Newman comes only after the first three games of the season, with the Lady Eagles winning their last game 78-75 in comeback fashion over King on Saturday.

"It's an unusual year when we start conference play this early but we're prepared by playing the two exhibition games and certainly the three out-of-conference games we've been able to play thus far," said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. "I'm happy where we are being 2-1 and we're glad to have our first conference game at home. It's a rivalry game with Tusculum, so hopefully our kids will come out fired up and ready to go, and I think we're going to have a nice crowd with the Mossy Creek Maniacs."

With 22 seconds left in the game at King, sophomore Jai Jai McLaughlin (Knoxville, Tenn.) assisted sophomore Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.), who knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner to give Carson-Newman a 76-75 lead that the Lady Eagles would not relinquish, as Carson-Newman finished the game on a 7-0 run to pick up the three point win. Carson-Newman was led in scoring against King by senior Chante' Markus (Hummelstown, Pa.), with her 13 points and she collected a career-high eight rebounds.

Through three games the Lady Eagles are led in scoring by a trio of players averaging 10.7 points per game: Burstrom, junior Lashawnda Peacher (Springfield, Tenn.), and freshman Kaitlyn Cupples (Clinton, Tenn.).

Tusculum enters Wednesday's game 0-1 this season after falling 75-69 at Chowan last Saturday. Blakely Burleson and Shynese Whitener led the Pioneers in scoring with 16 points each.

The Pioneers, coached by Katrina Williams, were picked to finish seventh in the preseason SAC coaches poll, and no Tusculum players were selected to the preseason All-Conference team.

Carson-Newman was swept last year by Tusculum, as the Pioneers won 55-51 on Jan. 9 in Greeneville before defeating Carson-Newman 77-68 on Feb. 6 in Jefferson City. Carson-Newman leads the overall series 23-14. While the Pioneers have won five of the last six meetings, Carson-Newman has won 14 out of 17 meetings played in Jefferson City.

"Tusculum has had a really solid program for the six years I've been here," Mincey said. "This year they're losing five starters, really good players. They played a tough Chowan team on Saturday and almost came away with a good road victory."

Wednesday's game will be carried on the Eagle Sports Network's flagship station WPFT-FM 106.3 FM, with coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m. with "The Countdown to Tipoff," and live video streaming is also available on www.cneagles.com.