JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman freshman forward Kaitlyn Cupples (Clinton, Tenn.) has been named the 2013-14 South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year, announced by the league office on Wednesday.

Cupples also earned a spot on the SAC All-Freshman team following a standout freshman campaign at Mossy Creek.

"Really proud of what Kaitlyn has accomplished this season," said Carson-Newman head women's basketball coach Mike Mincey. "As a coach you want players who will work hard everyday, are coachable, works outside of practice, has basketball intelligence, gets it done in the classroom and puts the team first. Kaitlyn is all of that and she's an awesome person. She is one of the most likeable people on our campus and she's a giver and not a taker. It is very comforting as a coach when you know what you can expect out of a player and day and Kaitlyn proves that."

Cupples led all of the SAC in field goal percentage by making 52.6 percent of her shots this season. She scored in all 28 games played this season and had at least two rebounds in each game. Cupples had five or more rebounds in 20 of Carson-Newman's 28 games, and led the Lady Eagles in rebounds seven times.

She scored in double figures in half of Carson-Newman's games, and four times scored over 15 points in a game. Four times she led the Lady Eagles in scoring in a game.

Her best game of the season came on Jan. 22 at Tusculum, as she collected her first career double-double with a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds.

In all she played in each of Carson-Newman's 28 games and made 25 starts, including the last 18 games of the season. Cupples finished tied for second by averaging 8.9 points per game, and led Carson-Newman by averaging 5.8 rebounds per contest.

 "Kaitlyn has so much potential and this should be the tip of the iceberg for her," Mincey said. "Anytime one of our players wins an award such as this, the team can share it with her because no one player can do it alone and she knows that. Coaches Ashley Tipton and Michael Potts also deserve a lot of credit for this award as they work with her daily during the post work in practice. This award couldn't have gone to a more deserving person and we are all very proud of her."

A native of Clinton, Tenn., Cupples was a high-school standout at Anderson County High School. She is the daughter of Mitch and Karen Cupples, both college athletes at Tennessee Tech.

The fourth-seeded Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (15-13, 12-10 South Atlantic Conference) women's basketball team will host the fifth-seeded Catawba Lady Indians (14-12, 12-10 South Atlantic Conference) in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Food Lion SAC Women's Basketball Championship at Holt Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.

Wednesday's first round tournament 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 is also available on www.cneagles.com.