Lady Eagles look for eighth-straight win over Mars Hill

Lady Eagles look for eighth-straight win over Mars Hill

Carson-Newman Women's Basketball Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman opens the month of February with a Wednesday contest against Mars Hill at 6 p.m. looking for an eighth-straight win against the Lions.

The Lady Eagles (15-5, 9-5 South Atlantic Conference) are 6-4 on the road this season averaging nearly 10 points fewer, 67.6 versus 77.2, away from Holt Fieldhouse this season. Coach Mike Mincey's team has 10 fewer made three-pointers despite playing one extra game on the road while shooting 31 percent compared to 41 percent at home.

Over the last five away games C-N is 22-for-106, 17 percent, from three-point range while attempting no fewer than 22 triples in that span.

Wednesday will be the 67th all-time meeting between Carson-Newman and Mars Hill (9-9, 8-5 SAC) as the Lady Eagles hold a 49-17 lead in the series and have won seven straight meetings.

Mars Hill's last win over Carson-Newman came on Feb. 15, 2012 at Stanford Arena in an 83-73 decision. The Lions won both games during the 2011-12 season as Mars Hill used a late 13-1 run after clinging to a one-point edge to close the game out.

The first meeting this season saw Mars Hill race out to a 15-2 lead less than five minutes into the contest. Carson-Newman reeled off a 41-12 sequence to close out the first half and go on for an 87-68 victory at Holt Fieldhouse on Jan. 2. Five players scored in double figures for Carson-Newman led by 20 points from junior guard Kailyn Brooks (Lafayette, Tenn.).

On the other side, Genice Lane had 15 points and six rebounds while Candence Wilmoth chipped in 14.

Mars Hill has won six of its last seven including an 84-75 decision at Brevard Monday night. The five starters played all but 20 minutes of the contest as all five scored in double figures led by 24 points from Paige Chavis. Overall this season, the starting five all averages in double figures this season and on average contribute 62.2 of the team's 69.8 points per game.

The Lions have won four straight contest at home with their last loss at the friendly confines coming on Dec. 16, 2015, a 76-58 setback to Newberry.

Mars Hill turned the ball over at least 20 times on six occasions in the first 11 games of the season. In the last eight outings, the Lions have not turned the ball over more than 19 and are averaging just 16.4 giveaways per contest.

As a group, the Lions make just 3.8 three-pointers per game this season, the 17th-lowest average in Division II on the year. The team relies on getting to the charity stripe having attempted 415 free-throws this season, the most in the league while committing the second-fewest fouls in the conference on the year.

In the Lakeway Area, fans can catch the game on 106.3 WPFT-FM while others can listen on cneagles.com/live beginning at 5:45 p.m. with The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off on the Eagle Sports Network.

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