Pink out highlights C-N tussle with L-R

C-N Women's Basketball Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman hosts its annual Pink Out game asking fans to wear pink Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. inside of Holt Fieldhouse when South Atlantic Conference Lenoir-Rhyne comes to Mossy Creek.

The game is in partnership with the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association Play4Kay Initiative promoting Breast Cancer Awareness in honor former North Carolina State head coach Kay Yow. T-shirts will be on sale for $15 at the door or through the women's basketball office with the proceeds going to the Kay Yow Foundation. Additional donations can be at the door or to Carson-Newman Women's Basketball during the month of February.

"It's great for the entire women's basketball community," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "There is no one that hasn't been touched by breast cancer. Anything that we can give to the foundation as a school and as a conference is obviously really important to try to eradicate women's cancers."

Lenoir-Rhyne has won back-to-back meetings but Carson-Newman has earned a win on its home floor in the last two meetings at Holt Fieldhouse to hold a 43-28 lead through the first 71 meetings. L-R has not won in Jefferson City since a Feb. 8, 2014, a 62-48 triumph.

Justyce Swango made a foul shot with 0.5 seconds to play in the first meeting this season on Dec. 17, 2016 to lead the Bears to a 57-56 win at Shuford Memorial Gym.

The Lady Eagles shot 15 percent from the floor in the first half, including 2-for-26 from inside the three-point arc, and scored a season-low 16 points in the first half to trail 28-16.

Mika Wester led all players with 15 points to go along with five rebounds as she scored in double figures for the 10th straight contest. Kailyn Brooks poured in 13 points and Briana Smith finished with 11 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Kaitlyn Cupples recorded a double-digit rebounding effort for the sixth time in her career.

Madi Suddreth led the Bears with 15 points and five rebounds while Chelsey Romero added 12 points and nine rebounds.

The Bears enter play on Saturday having won three straight games to begin February and have come out victorious in seven of their last nine outings.

L-R has a 10-2 record at home this season but just a 4-5 mark on the road. It has won four straight games in which it has travelled dating back to a 61-53 loss at Anderson on Jan. 8.

Defense continues to be the group's calling card ranking fourth in the nation points against at 54 per night. In nine road games, the Bears allow six points fewer on average at 57 compared to 63.

The team's field-goal percentage defense is 28th in the country at 36 percent despite placing 133rd across the USA in three-point percentage defense at 31 and it racks up 4.5 rejections per game, 30th in the nation.

The majority of L-R's offense comes inside of the arc as the squad is middle of the pack in the league in field-goal percentage at 42 percent despite shooting 29 percent from distance and ranking last in the league in free-throw percentage at 62.

Suddreth leads the team with 12.6 points per game while Romero adds 10.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.91 blocks per game, 38th in Division II.

There are three broadcast options for Saturday's affair thanks to the work of the Eagle Sports Network. Mountain Country 106.3 WPFT-FM is the radio home in the Lakeway region while audio and video streams are available on cneagles.com/live beginning at 1:45 p.m. with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off".