Lady Eagles looking to cool off streaking Bulldogs

Lady Eagles looking to cool off streaking Bulldogs

VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

Carson-Newman Women's Basketball Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman travels east to Wingate looking to put a stop to the Bulldogs' five-game winning streak Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Cuddy Arena.

The second-longest active winning streak in the league belongs to Carson-Newman (10-3, 4-3 South Atlantic Conference) as the Lady Eagles have won three straight games by margins of 20, 19 and 21.

"As always they are very talented," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "A little bit younger this year with freshman getting key minutes. Actually one of them is tied leading them in scoring. They are well-coached. They always do a good job in their scouts. Playing over there is always difficult.

"I think our kids have gained a lot of confidence," Mincey said. "I know that I have certainly gained a lot of confidence in them the way we have played these last three games especially without Tatum [Burstrom]. It's going to be another game in conference play that's going to be pretty tough."

Saturday is the 71st all-time meeting between Carson-Newman and Wingate (8-3, 5-2 SAC) with the Bulldogs holding a 39-31 advantage in the series having won four straight contests.

The Lady Eagles last victory over Wingate came in the regular season finale on March 2, 2013 a 56-50 decision at Holt Fieldhouse. 2013 was also the last time that Carson-Newman defeated Wingate in Cuddy Arena winning 49-46 on Feb. 2, 2013.

The most recent meeting between the two schools came on Valentine's Day of 2015 when the Bulldogs took a 78-51 victory on their home floor. Wingate led by eight at halftime but started the second half on a 17-4 run to expand its lead.

Wingate enters the weekend riding the longest winning streak in the league having won each of the last five contests, three of which came by at least 14 points.

The Bulldogs work on the glass has been the team's calling card ranking 24th in Division II and second in the league with 43.6 rebounds per game on the year.

Wingate is another conference foe for the Lady Eagles to rank inside of the top 40 nationally in field goal percentage offense (43.9 percent - 39th) and field goal percentage defense (35.2 percent - 40th).

The Bulldogs shoot the third-fewest three-pointers in the country averaging 11 attempts per night, but they rank eighth in the nation in percentage at 40.5 percent.

Freshman guard Danasia Witherspoon has been the leader of the unit averaging 10.9 points per game and ranking 17th in the country with a 58.1 percent shooting clip from the floor. Witherspoon has attempted just one three-pointer this year, a miss.

Honorable mention All-SAC selection Shelby Tricoli is tied for the team-lead with 10.9 points per game after scoring 22 points and 18 points in two meetings against Carson-Newman last season.

Broadcast coverage begins on the radio and the internet at 1:45 p.m. with the Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off on 106.3 WPFT-FM and cneagles.com/live with video coverage available on the WatchESPN app.

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