C-N Women's Basketball Game Notes
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman closes out its nonconference contests Wednesday night with a 6 p.m. tip-off against North Georgia at Memorial Hall looking to push its winning streak to three games after toppling No. 23 Newberry Saturday.
Carson-Newman (4-3) has played the toughest schedule in Division II to this point in the season as its opponents have a combined record a 24-5 (.828). The next closest team is Ferris State's .787 winning percentage as its foes have racked up a 37-10 record.
Wednesday night is the seventh all-time meeting between Carson-Newman and North Georgia (7-1) as the Lady Eagles ride a four-game winning streak in the series after losing the first two contests against the Nighthawks.
Last season, C-N handed UNG its first loss of the year with an 86-65 victory at Holt Fieldhouse as 13 different players scored for the Lady Eagles led by 15 points and six assists from Kailyn Brooks. Tatum Burstrom became the 17th C-N player to top 1,000 points in her career in the second quarter of the contest.
Cierra Jackson led the way for the Nighthawks with 18 points and 14 rebounds while Jordan Livesay chipped in 18 points in 36 minutes.
North Georgia entered the season ranked sixth in the preseason Peach Belt Conference coaches' poll out of 14 teams after finishing the 2015-16 season with a 17-16 record.
The Nighthawks are 5-0 this season at home and the lone loss came in triple overtime at Shorter on Nov. 29, a 79-71 setback. In their seven win, they are winning by an average of 18.4 points per night, 21st in the country. The strength of schedule ranks 293rd out of 316th as its foes are a combined 12-25.
Defensively, UNG is seventh in the nation in field-goal percentage defense yielding 31.3 percent from the floor and 24.5 percent, 31st nationally, against three-pointers. Teams are scoring 55.6 points per game, the 27th-fewest in Division II on the year.
On the offensive end of the floor, North Georgia is making 38.2 percent of its three-point attempts, 21st in the country. Overall from the field, it is making 45.5 percent of its field-goal attempts, good for 22nd in America. The Nighthawks average 18.3 turnovers per night ranking 211th in the country.
2015-16 WBCA honorable mention All-American Kelsey Hutchins was named to the league's preseason All-PBC roster after points 18.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game with 31 rejections. This season the post player is 18th in the nation with 20 points per night.
The game will be broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network's flagship station Mountain Country 106.3 WPFT-FM and streaming online at cneagles.com/live with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off" leading into the play-by-play.
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