Carson-Newman Women's Basketball Game Notes
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Looking to snap a three-game losing streak to Catawba, Carson-Newman hosts the Indians Saturday for a 2 p.m. start at Holt Fieldhouse.
Catawba (11-10, 8-7 South Atlantic Conference) has won the last three meetings by nine-, 17- and 13-point margins including an 87-78 decision at Carson-Newman (15-6, 9-6 SAC) where the Indians overcame an 11-point deficit at halftime and scored 60 points in the second half on Jan. 31, 2015.
"They are very athletic," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "They are a very talented team but when we played them over there the first time, after going back and reviewing that film, I don't think we could have played any worse than we did in the first half."
Mincey's squad is looking to prevent a losing streak for the first time this season rebounding with a win after the previous five losses of the year. Carson-Newman took an 83-82 loss at Mars Hill in a controversial ending at Stanford Arena.
"I feel like our kids did enough to deserve to win the game," Mincey said. "It was an unfortunate set of circumstances towards the end there. You put yourself in that situation to not be in control of what's going on. I'm hoping what will happen is it galvanizes the team. They'll come together a little bit more here going into the stretch with seven games to go."
The Indians have won three consecutive games in the all-time series as the two sides meet for the 64th time on Saturday with Catawba holding a 38-25 advantage.
The first meeting of the season came on Dec. 16, 2015 as Catawba led for the entire game in a 79-66 decision. The Indians led by as many as 25 points in the game as the Lady Eagles shot 34 percent from the floor.
Carson-Newman shot 4-for-24 from three-point range in the game for a 16.7 percent clip, its second-lowest of the year. Freshman guard Briana Smith (Nashville, Tenn.) poured in a career-high 17 points surpassing her previous high of six.
The Indians have won three straight games and seven of their last nine games overall with three road wins in that stretch. Each of the last three victories for Catawba have come by at least 13 points.
Teams have shot over 41 percent in each of the last four contests against Catawba. On the year, the Indians rank 250th nationally in field-goal percentage defense yielding a 41.8 percent tally on the season. Catawba has relied on steals, a stat where it ranks tops in the league with 182 on the year and has eight games with at least 10 pilfers.
The free-throw line has been a strong suit for Catawba on the year. The Indians are second in the league in free throws made with 304, foul shots attempted with 415 and third in the conference with a 73.3 percent shooting percentage.
The Indians sport a big three in Bri Johnson, Terri Rogers and Jada Huntley as the trio are averaging 43.6 points per game of the team's 68.4 points per night. Johnson ranks third in the SAC in points per game with 15.7 while Rogers is eighth with 14.4.
In the first meeting, Rogers finished with game-highs in points and rebounds with 23 and 14 respectively. Johnson tallied 18 points while Alexis Newbold poured in 16 points and seven rebounds.
The game will be broadcast via audio and video channels beginning at 1:45 p.m. with The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off. Audio will be available on 106.3 WPFT-FM with audio and video streaming online at cneagles.com/live.
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