JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – When Carson-Newman hosts Limestone on Saturday at 2 p.m. from Holt Fieldhouse in a South Atlantic Conference affair, the Lady Eagles will honor Katie Bean, Addison Byrd, Taylor Goforth, Sydney Pearce and Abby Wilson for senior day festivities.
Overall, the quintet has been a part of four 20-win seasons and four teams to make the NCAA Tournament leading the Lady Eagles to a 131-38 overall record, good for a .775 winning percentage, during their careers. The unit boasts a 1,000-point scorer in Byrd and the seventh-best shot blocker in program history in Pearce.
"Byrd came in for the 2017-18 season when we went to the Elite Eight," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "She has enjoyed a lot of success. With the 20-win season, that's four for her. We have the potential of going to five straight NCAA Tournaments since she's been here.
"For the other four, they have had success too going to NCAA Tournaments and get a regular-season championship under their belts. Whether you're the leading scorer or No. 1 on the plus/minus chart, you have had value in what we have been able to achieve. I think all of these kids are certainly kids that have brought value to our program."
Saturday will also be Carson-Newman's Play4Kay game, an initiative to raise money for Kay Yow's Cancer Fund and plays a major role in uniting players, coaches, and communities in the fight against ALL cancers affecting women. The program is raising money all month long with a free-throw challenge. Donations will be accepted at the door and you can find more information or donate online by clicking here.
Saturday is the sixth meeting between Carson-Newman (20-5, 17-4) and Limestone (14-9, 11-9) with the lone Lady Eagles victory coming on Dec. 12, 2020 inside of Holt Fieldhouse. The Saints won the first meeting this year on Dec. 18 the Lady Eagles allowed the most points of the year and saw Limestone shoot 53 percent from the field in an 88-76 loss. C-N outscored the Saints by nine in the first and fourth quarters but was beaten by 21 points in the middle periods.
Coach Corey Fox's team has won five of the last seven games with four of those wins coming on the road and both losses happening at the Timken Center. The club scores five fewer points on average away from home and shoots five percent lower. However the team is more accurate and makes more three-pointers in road games.
Roughly one third of the team's shots have come from long distance where the Saints rank third in efficiency in the league making 34 percent from deep making nearly eight per game. The team has hit double figures from three-point land six times with the only loss coming at home to Newberry on Jan. 19 when the team made a season-high 13 but went 10-for-30 inside of the arc.
Limestone has one of the best scoring trios in the region with three players ranking in the top 16 of the league with Quin Byrd, Reagan Kargo and Reagan McCray combining for 50 points and seven three-pointers in the first meeting. Byrd is the conference's fifth-leading scorer with 17 double-digit scoring nights paced by a pair of 30-point outbursts this season.
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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