VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

Carson-Newman Women's Basketball Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (12-1, 6-1 South Atlantic Conference) return to Holt Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. tip-off against the Queens (N.C.) Royals (4-8, 2-5 SAC).

After overcoming a 17-point deficit in the final 10:30 at Mars Hill Wednesday to win 75-72 in dramatic comeback fashion, Carson-Newman is looking for more consistency. In two games in 2015, the Lady Eagles are -28 in the first 30 minutes of games compared to +28 in the final 10 minutes.

"Obviously in the first half they are a little fresher," head coach Mike Mincey said. "They are making some tough shots. In some cases they've had players who don't usually score put shots in on us. We like to go up-tempo and in the second half their legs are gone a little bit. Because of the score we've had to turn up the pressure and that puts them into a little tougher and quicker shots."

In those two games, Wingate shot 50 percent in the first half and Mars Hill shot 64 percent in the opening stanza. Defense was not expected to be a strong suit for the Lady Eagles this season but Carson-Newman currently ranks third in scoring defense at 62.1 point per game and field goal percentage defense at 37.9 percent.

Queens is the worst team out of 289 Division II teams in points per game averaging 53.4 points per outing despite ranking fourth in conference in field goal percentage at 40.5 percent. The Royals have not taken advantage of shots from beyond the arc converting 26.4 percent of three-point attempts ranking 270^th nationally. Defending the three-point arc has been the lone weakness for Carson-Newman's defense as the Lady Eagles are yielding a 31 percent conversion rate, ninth in the SAC.

The two programs are meeting for just the third time with Queens taking both meetings a season ago including a 69-64 decision in Holt Fieldhouse on February 22, 2014. The Royals shot 61 percent in the first half and 51 percent in the victory while Carson-Newman went 1-for-14 from distance in the contest.

Four players scored in double figures for the Royals, but three of those four players are no longer on the Queens roster. Lacey Singletary scored 10 points on 5 of 9 shooting in the game. Singletary leads the Royals with 10.8 points per game while ranking fourth in the SAC by making 52 percent of her field goal attempts.

"They want to control tempo," Mincey said. "They don't score a lot but their top four scorers are all [shooting] over 40 percent which is a really good mark. They are very efficient on the offensive end. They are going to wait to get good looks."

The game will be broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network's flagship station, 106.3 WPFT-FM or with a high definition video stream on cneagles.com/live beginning at 1:45 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off".

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