JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In the final regular-season home game of the year, Carson-Newman looks to continue its strong close to the campaign on Wednesday evening at 5:30 inside of Holt Fieldhouse against South Atlantic Conference rival Lincoln Memorial.
After its worst shooting performance of the season on Feb. 12, Carson-Newman (21-5, 18-4) has made 52 percent of its shots and made 29 three-pointers as the club has hit at least 10 in three of the last five games after going through a 26-game drought without hitting double-digit trifectas. Over the last 12 quarters, the Orange and Blue have made converted field goals at a 50 percent or better clip eight times.
Dating back to last season, the Lady Eagles have won 12 straight Wednesday games with the last loss coming to Lincoln Memorial (10-15, 8-14) on the road on Jan. 27, 2021, 87-82. The string is 11 for home Wednesday contests since Jan. 15, 2020, a 71-66 setback to Tusculum.
After a five-year drought between season sweeps, Carson-Newman is looking to complete the regular-season sweep of Lincoln Memorial for the third time in the last four years doing so in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Overall the Lady Eagles hold a 54-36 overall advantage in the series aided by a 33-15 tally at home that includes an 8-4 mark under coach Mike Mincey.
When the teams faced off on Jan. 26, C-N scored the game's final six points of the game holding Lincoln Memorial without points over the final 2:13 of the game to secure a 68-61 victory at Tex Turner Arena. Three players finished in double figures led by 19 points from Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) as the junior made seven of 17 from the floor. The guard added three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Eight Lady Eagles finished with at least three rebounds in the game as C-N held a 46-31 advantage on the glass holding a 15-3 lead in second-chance points and a 30-8 differential in points in the paint. Lincoln Memorial made 11 triples of its 19 made field goals in the game and went 12-for-15 at the free-throw line but went 3-for-13 from the floor in the fourth quarter.
After opening the year 8-4, coach Devan Carter's team has dropped 10 of its last 12 outings despite eight of those games coming by single digits including a 74-72, double overtime loss to Newberry on Feb. 7. Due to Covid issues, the team has played on Monday in three straight weeks as Wednesday with be the ninth affair in the last 21 days.
Few teams lean as heavily on the three-pointer as the Railsplitters with the club ranking fourth in the country in three-pointers per game with over nine. Of the 557 made field goals, 230, 41 percent, have come from long range. There have been 11 occasions when the team drilled at least 10 and six more with nine. However the club is 5-6 when connecting on double figures.
Despite the reliance on the three ball, Lincoln Memorial is the second-worst offensive rebounding team in the country getting fewer than seven offensive caroms per game. Out of the 25 games, the 'Splitters have grabbed six or fewer 14 times. Due to the lack of boards at the offensive end, the team is last in league with 33 per night but is only getting outrebounded by one per game.
For a team that is third in the conference in field-goal percentage connecting on 43 percent, four players are scoring between 11 and 13 points per game led by Irelynn Davisson. The Belmont Abbey transfer ranks in the top 15 nationally with 72 triples making 44 percent. She has not hit more than two in any of her last six games making 31 percent over that period.
Mikayla Kuehne paced LMU in the first meeting with 19 points, five assists and four rebounds making five of 11 from long range. She has been in double figures in nine of her last 10 games posting one game with 11 rebounds and another with 10 assists over that period.
Fans can enjoy the broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network starting at 5:15 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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