JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn – With four games on the docket over the next seven days, Carson-Newman opens up the gauntlet with 14th-ranked Catawba on Saturday at 2 p.m. from Holt Fieldhouse in a South Atlantic Conference showdown of two of the top four units in the league.
"We had to change our plan in how we wanted to navigate the week," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "We were able to give them a couple days off to rest mentally and physically. Since we didn't have the game last Saturday, we tried to treat it like it was a game day. These last few days of practice have been the same. We want to keep the machine oiled, the engine oiled and keep everything moving smoothly."
Under Mincey, the program is 18-14 overall against top 25 teams anchored by a 9-2 mark inside of Holt Fieldhouse. However nine of the last 10 outings against ranked foes have been on the road or on neutral floors with the last contest coming on Feb. 1, 2020, a 102-100 double overtime loss to No. 20 Anderson. The Trojans have both wins against C-N with its last victory at home over a ranked foe coming on Jan. 19, 2019, 71-55 over No. 25 Newberry.
Three-point shooting has been up and down much of this season with 18 games of seven or fewer three-pointers and an efficiency rate that is in the middle of the league. In the last two games, the unit is 17-for-39, 44 percent. With 10 last Wednesday against Tusculum, the club snapped a 26-game drought without double figures since drilling 13 of 25 versus Mars Hill on Feb. 18, 2021.
Perhaps the biggest "windicator" for Carson-Newman (18-4, 15-3) this season comes on the glass as the team is 14-0 this year when outrebounding its opponent and 12-0 when it has more second-chance points. The Lady Eagles have outscored foes by 60 on the year in leftover points and have double-digit offensive rebounds in five games in a row and 18 of 22.
The Orange and Blue have won eight straight home games since falling to Wingate on Nov. 27 with seven of the eight coming by double figures. It is the 22nd-longest streak in the nation and third-longest in the region behind 10 from the Bulldogs and Lander's nine-game stretch.
Saturday afternoon will mark the 74th all-time meeting between the two clubs with Catawba (17-4, 14-4) holding a 38-35 edge in the series. Three of the last five affairs have been decided by five points or fewer with two needing overtime including the Lady Eagles 83-78 overtime triumph at Goodman Gym on Jan. 12.
The second half featured eight ties and 10 lead changes before Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) buried a pair of free throws with 0.3 seconds to play in regulation to tie the score as Carson-Newman scored seven of the nine points in overtime to take down the 21st-ranked team in the nation. Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) led all scorers in the game with 21 points making eight of 12 attempts from the field adding 10 rebounds for the fifth double-double of her junior year. She was one of four Lady Eagles to score in double figures.
Catawba had won five straight games entering the week but has dropped back-to-back contests for the first time this year losing 65-60 to Wingate on Monday and 69-61 at Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday. The program has been ranked in 10 straight weeks after being in the top 25 for a total of nine in its history entering the season.
Two areas stand out from this week's losses. Both clubs shot at least 45 percent from the field despite turning the ball over a total of 41 times. The Indians have gone 10-for-17 at the free-throw while the Bears and Bulldogs made 36 foul shots. The club is 12th in the conference making 66 percent at the stripe.
No team in the league is better on turnovers than Catawba where the unit leads the league with total turnovers at 14 per game and turnovers forced with 22. The plus-eight margin is good for ninth in the nation. In the first meeting this year the Lady Eagles held a 22-21 edge in giveaways and a 21-11 lead in points off of turnovers.
Five players are scoring at least nine points per game with Lyrik Thorne leading the unit with 13.4 points per game. The guard has 15 outings with at least 10 points this year highlighted by a 34-point outburst in Monday's loss to Wingate where she went 14-for-21 from the field. However she had six on Wednesday, her fewest since Dec. 18.
Fans can enjoy the broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network starting at 1:45 p.m. for "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off" on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) with audio and video streams available on cneagles.com/live free of charge.
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