Riding winning streak, C-N welcomes Newberry

Buy Now

Posted: Jan 20, 2017

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Riding a season-high three-game winning streak, Carson-Newman opens the doors Holt Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. for a South Atlantic Conference contest against Newberry.

"We have been able to stay healthy," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "It's not that we don't have our nagging injuries like everyone else but we are currently playing with a full complement of players. One thing that I like about our team which is unlike our teams in the past is we are getting to the free-throw line a lot more. I think we have played a lot better defensively. I like where we are at and as always we have to keep to keep winning games and strive to get to the top four."

Carson-Newman (11-6, 8-3) picked up a win in the 50th all-time meeting to snap a three-game losing streak to Newberry and push its lead to 29-21 in the series.

The Lady Eagles defeated 23rd-ranked Newberry (10-5, 6-5) on Dec. 3 66-46 and hand the Wolves their first loss of the year. It was the sixth win in eight tries for a Mincey-coached group.

C-N shot 59 percent from the floor in the second half while holding Newberry to 33 percent shooting and no more than 14 points in a quarter.

Mika Wester led all players with 18 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Kailyn Brooks was the only other Lady Eagle to score in double figures finishing with 16 points, three assists and three rebounds.

Shelby Britten paced the Wolves with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Nicola Handreck finished with 12 points and six rebounds as the only players to score in double figures for the Wolves.

Newberry has won three of its last four outings but lost in its most recent time on the floor to Catawba on Wednesday 70-52. The Wolves shot 28 percent overall and went 4-for-27 from long range in the contest.

Sean Page's group has continued to lock down on defense ranking second in the conference and 43rd in the nation in scoring defense at 57.9 points allowed per night.

Opponents are shooting 36.3 percent from the floor, third in the SAC and 47th in Division II. The Wolves are averaging just 14.8 fouls per game this season, second in the league and 20th among teams in the nation.

Newberry protects the pumpkin better than any other team in the conference turning the ball over just 14.3 times per night, fewest in the league and 42nd in the nation.

The Wolves rank ninth in the conference in rebound margin at negative-2.3 per night while posting 37.6 boards per evening to rank eighth. With 11 offensive rebounds per evening, Newberry ranks 230th nationally.

Sophomore Meg Essex leads the way by averaging 15.3 points per game and ranking sixth in the country with 3.27 blocks per night. In four career games against C-N, the reigning SAC Freshman of the Year has scored a total of 25 points with no games in double figures while going 10-for-27 from the field.

The Eagle Sports Network has wall-to-wall coverage beginning at 1:45 p.m. with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off". Radio coverage is on Mountain Country 106.3 WPFT-FM with video and audio streams on cneagles.com/live.

- CN -