Carson-Newman Women's Basketball Game Notes
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman has moved into fourth in the South Atlantic Conference for the first time this year as the Lady Eagles get set to host Coker Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.
"As always, it's a tough game," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "The way we look at it is they are a team that is tied with us right now in the league standings and it's just another opportunity for us at home to try and get a victory and keep moving up the standings since we kind of dug ourselves in a hole early."
Carson-Newman (11-4, 5-4 SAC) lost its first two league contests this season but has won of its last seven conference games to reach the top-four in the SAC for the first time this year. The first four seeds get a home game in the opening round of the league tournament and Saturday marks another test against a team with their eyes set on a top-four spot.
Saturday marks the sixth meeting between Carson-Newman and Coker (6-9, 5-4 SAC) as the all-time series began in 2012. C-N leads the series 3-2 with Coker losing both contests at Holt Fieldhouse.
Each team won on its home court during the 2014-15 season. Carson-Newman took a 78-58 victory at Mossy Creek on Nov. 22, 2014 as the Lady Eagles scored 56 points in the paint and outrebounded Coker 45-21.
Coker won its first four conference contests this season but it has lost four of its last five in league play and enters Saturday riding a four-game losing streak.
Ranking last in the SAC, Coker is allowing 72.2 points per game this season yielding a 42.2 percent field-goal percentage. Defending the three-point arc has been a strong suit however as the Cobras are second-best in the league giving up 28.2 percent shooting from long distance.
Offensively, Coker has relied on shooting triples this season ranking second in the league in three-pointers made (93) and attempted (287) converting almost seven shots from beyond the arc per game.
The Cobras are averaging 20.3 turnovers per game this season, the second-worst in the league.
College of Charleston transfer Jazz Green is filling up the stat sheet averaging 16.1 points per game, 9.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.8 steals per night, all of which rank second in the league. The senior is fourth in the country this season with 10 double-doubles having recorded at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in three straight outings. In three January games, Green is averaging 20.3 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. Green ranks in the top-10 in the SAC in 18 different categories.
"They have the transfer in Jazz Green who in the scouting report can do just about everything," Mincey said. "She can go right, left, shoot the three, shoot the midrange jumper or go to the rim. We have to key in on her to get her stopped."
Broadcast coverage begins at 1:45 p.m. on the Eagle Sports Network with the Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off on 106.3 WPFT-FM in the Lakeway Region and throughout the world on cneagles.com/live.
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