VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

Carson-Newman Women's Basketball Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the seventh time in program history, the seventh-seeded Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (19-10) take on the second-seeded Columbus State Cougars (30-1) Friday afternoon at approximately 2:30 p.m. at the Timken Center in the first round of the Southeast Region of the NCAA Tournament.

"Obviously they are very good," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "Early on we knew they were going to be one of the best teams in our region. Certainly they have lived up to that billing. They have three-point shooters and athletes so it's going to be a real challenge for us."

Carson-Newman won its final three regular season games before falling in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament at Catawba 79-52. The 19 wins for the Lady Eagles are the most by a Mike Mincey-coached team in his four seasons in Mossy Creek while 13 conference victories are tied for the most in program history, matching the first team to compete in SAC play, the 1989-90 team.

The calling card for Mincey's group this season has been altruism. The Lady Eagles are 29^th at the Division II level by averaging 15.6 assists per game despite losing their top two points guards this season to ACL injuries in January. In 11 games since the injuries to junior Jai Jai McLaughlin (Knoxville, Tenn.) and senior Lacy Miller (Dandridge, Tenn.), sophomore guard Kailyn Brooks (Lafayette, Tenn.) has averaged 10.3 points and six assists per game.

Honorable mention All-SAC selection Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) leads the offensive attack with her third straight season averaging in double figures at 10.4 points per game. In her junior year, Burstrom has positioned herself to joining the 1,000-point club as she is 76 points shy of that mark and 33 three-pointers from passing assistant coach Ashley Tipton's school record of 222 made shots from distance.

All-Freshman team selection Jecca Simerly (Talbott, Tenn.) leads the frontcourt with 10.1 points per game this season and a team-leading 5.7 rebounds a night. Simerly led the SAC by shooting 59 percent from the floor on the year.

Columbus State is one of three teams in the country to loss just one game in 2014-15 and enters the weekend ranked No. 3 in the nation according to the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Cougars only loss this season came on January 10 at Georgia College, 73-62, after winning their first 14 games of the year. Columbus State has won 16 straight games coming into the weekend.

"If we can stop them and limit them to some one-and-dones and not let them get offensive rebounds and easy second chance points and transition defense is something we've worked on too," Mincey said. "On the other side, offensively we have to handle their pressure they'll be putting on us and we have to score the basketball if we want to make it a game."

The Cougars have the Peach Belt Co-Player of the year in Michelle Mitchell, the Defensive Player of the Year in Carrie Washington and the Coach of the Year in Jonathan Norton.

Mitchell shared the honor with North Georgia's Stephanie Huffman while scoring 20 points per game this season, the 16^th-best tally at the Division II level. In an 81-78 win at Clayton State on February 4, Mitchell scored 42 points, the seventh-most in Division II this year, on 15 of 28 shooting from the floor and 12 of 12 shooting at the free throw line.

Washington is fifth in the nation with 3.34 blocks per game, fourth in total rebounds at 12.7 per contest and fifth in offensive rebounds at five per game.

"Mitchell kind of reminds me a little bit of [first team All-SAC Camille] Glymph from Mars Hill as far as the number of points she can go off for," Mincey said. She can rise up and shoot over just about anybody at five-foot-nine. Carrie Washington is really athletic at six-foot. She can rebound as good as anybody we've seen all year so it's going to be a huge challenege."

Norton's team ranks seventh in the country in field goal percentage defense (34.2), 9^th in offensive rebounds (17), 11^th in scoring margin (15.1), 14^th in rebound margin (7.7) and 15^th in scoring defense (57.6) this season.

Carson-Newman is 3-6 all-time in six previous NCAA Tournament trips with the most recent coming in 2010 when the Lady Eagles defeated Lenoir-Rhyne 79-72 in the first round and lost to Lander 94-67 in the regional semifinals.

The Lady Eagles deepest run in the NCAA Tournament came in 2004-05 when Carson-Newman advanced to the South Atlantic Regional Final with wins over Fayetteville State, 79-67, and Clayton State, 75-61, before falling to Shaw, 67-53.

Columbus State and Carson-Newman have play eight times before with the most recent meeting coming on November 20, 2012. Nikki James poured in 22 points, the final two coming with 18 seconds to play in the game in a 62-61 Carson-Newman victory at Holt Fieldhouse.

The two programs have met once in NCAA Tournament, a 92-77 win for the Cougars on March 5, 1998 in the first round of South Atlantic Region play. The Lady Eagles were 18-for-25, 72 percent, from the floor in the second half and were led by Kori Linebarger's 15 points.

The winner of the game will take on the win of third-seeded Anderson and sixth-seeded Newberry Saturday at 5 p.m. Broadcast coverage begins approximately 15 minutes prior to the start of Friday's game with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off" on the Eagle Sports Network's flagship station Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) or online by visiting cneagles.com/live. 

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