JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles basketball team will begin its 2012-13 exhibition schedule against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Carmichael Arena on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.

The Lady Eagles continue a tradition of beginning the season against top-flight Division I competition in exhibition play, as well as facing Tar Heel head coach and 1974 Carson-Newman alumnus Sylvia Hatchell.

"The coaching staff and players alike are excited to go play somebody else," said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. "You're playing against North Carolina, and it's never an easy assignment to go there and get things done."

The Lady Eagles fell to North Carolina last season 91-43 at Carmichael Arena, yet Carson-Newman only trailed the Tar Heels by four points at halftime.

"It's always a difficult game for us because athletically they are bigger, faster, and in some regards stronger," said Mincey. "It's going to be a real challenge for us to stay focused and not get rattled by their pressure and quickness. We're all excited to go and play somebody else, but at the same time we know it will be a real difficult challenge for us to get some things done and put some points on the board."

Carson-Newman features seven new players from the 2012 signing class, with senior forward Whitney Moody (Blountville, Tenn.) the only returning starter from the 2011-12 team.

Carson-Newman was picked to finish seventh in the South Atlantic Conference by the league's coaches in the annual preseason poll. No Lady Eagles were named to the preseason All-SAC team.

The Tar Heels were picked for a fourth-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference by the league's coaches.  North Carolina returns two starters from last year's team, as the Tar Heels finished fifth in the ACC.

Also in exhibition play, Carson-Newman will face the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in Knoxville on Nov. 1, and East Tennessee State in Johnson City on Nov. 3.

The regular season will begin with a trip to Harrogate for the SAC-Conference of the Carolinas Challenge, where the Lady Eagles will face Coker and Erskine from Nov. 9-10.