VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

Carson-Newman Women's Basketball Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Coming off of their biggest win of the season against Tusculum Wednesday night, the Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (14-3, 8-3 South Atlantic Conference) take on the Newberry Wolves (12-5, 8-3 SAC) in a battle of third place teams Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Carson-Newman will try to follow an excellent second half of basketball where the Lady Eagles shot 59.5 percent from the floor by making 22 of 37 shots. It was the highest field goal percentage in a half by Mincey's group this season.

They will face a tough challenge in Newberry who leads the SAC in scoring defense by allowing just 58.8 points per game, a number that ranks 33^rd in the country. Its field goal percentage defense is 30^th nationally at 35.9 percent.

"They don't get too extended," Mincey said. "They've always done a great job in transition not letting you get easy baskets. We know that we are going to have to make some 15-footers and make some threes. Hopefully that will soften them up. Very few teams have been able to penetrate on them. For the most part they make you get your stuff from outside and not let you get anything easy around the basket."

The Wolves have won six of their last seven games including each of their last outings. No team has scored more than 63 points.

Conversely, at the offensive end of the floor, Newberry has two of the top ten scorers in the conference. Samantha Creed, a preseason second team All-SAC selection, is second at 18.9 points per game while Haylee Lepaio, a preseason first team pick, is eighth at 13.5 points per game.

"It's probably the best inside-out punch in our conference, maybe in our region," Mincey said. "They work really well together and when you have an inside player like [Lepaio] who has been an All-American before. Creed, if not the best guard in our league, one of the top two or three guards for sure."

The two programs are meeting for the 45^th time with Carson-Newman holding a 26-18 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, each team was able to win on the road with the Lady Eagles pulling off an improbable win at Newberry where they trailed by six with 56 seconds to play. At that point, current senior forward Whitney Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) reeled off eight points including a layup with 14 seconds to seal the win for Carson-Newman.

The game can be heard on the Eagle Sports Network's flagship station 106.3 WPFT-FM beginning at 1:45 p.m. from Newberry, S.C. with "The Appalachian Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off". Fans can also visit cneagles.com/live to find the live audio stream. 

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