Burstrom, McLaughlin and Simerly named preseason All-SAC

Posted: Oct 27, 2015

ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the first time in program history, the Carson-Newman Lady Eagles placed three players on the South Atlantic Conference's preseason All-Conference teams the league announced Tuesday morning. Senior guard Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) was a first-team pick while sophomore forward Jecca Simerly (Talbott, Tenn.) and senior guard Jai Jai McLaughlin (Knoxville, Tenn.) were placed on the second team.

Since the league began naming preseason All-SAC selections in 2006-07 the Lady Eagles have had 11 honorees including at least one in eight of the 10 seasons. On three occasions, 2008, 2010 and 2011, Carson-Newman has placed two players on a preseason team.

"Tatum, being a senior has been playing really well in the preseason," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "Jecca had a great year as a freshman and was second in the running to a great player in [Terri] Rogers at Catawba. She's been having a great camp. We are still getting Jai Jai back in the fold after her ACL injury. We are playing pretty good right now and still haven't gotten Jai Jai back so that is only going to make us that much stronger."

Burstrom was named a preseason pick for the third straight season and was an honorable mention selection following her junior year. She started 29 of the 30 games she played in last year while leading the team in minutes per game (28.3), points per game (10.1) and finished second with 72 assists.

The Maryville, Tenn. native is poised to make her mark on the program's record books. Entering the year Burstrom is 32 made three-pointers shy of taking sole possession of the school's all-time made three-pointers in a career as she begins the season with 191 chasing former assistant coach Ashley Tipton. Burstrom is 83 points short of becoming the 17^th Lady Eagle to notch 1,000 career points.

"After four years here it would mean a lot," Burstrom said of the career marks. "I've played with a lot of great players all four years that I've been here so I owe them a lot. They are so unselfish and a lot of great teammates. They put me in a lot of good positions. To beat Tipton's record would mean a lot too because she was a great player here. We always used to give each other a hard time about it so I'm looking forward to catching her."

McLaughlin missed the final 14 games of the 2014-15 season with a knee injury but has been one of the most dynamic point guards in the league. In her career, the senior is averaging 7.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and four assists per outing. The Knoxville, Tenn. native in eighth on the program's all-time list for career assists as she enters the season with 292, 55 behind seventh-place Kim Weens's 327.

"It's very humbling to know that even I didn't even perform in half of the season the coaches still saw fit to put me in," McLaughlin said. "I'm only going to have to prove them right to be there, maybe even first-team."

Simerly, a 2014-15 All-Freshman team selection, averaged 24.5 minutes in 30 games with 24 starts, finished second on the team with 10 points per game and 24 blocks total blocks while leading the squad with 5.6 rebounds. She led the SAC with a 59 percent field goal percentage. The Talbott, Tenn. native finished with three double-doubles and three nights with 20 or more points.

"It puts a lot more pressure because they know what's coming," Simerly said. "They know my game a little bit more. Overall I'm not worried about it because it's basketball and I know how to play basketball."

Carson-Newman received the most preseason nods of any team in the SAC with three as only Brevard and Anderson received multiple selections with two All-SAC performers apiece.

The Lady Eagles are set for their first contest of the year on November 9 at 5 p.m. at the University of Tennessee. Fans can listen to that contest and every game during the 2015-16 season on the Eagle Sports Network's flagship station Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.

First Team

Samantha Creed, Newberry

Bri Johnson, Catawba

Katie Williams, Brevard

Jasmine Franklin, Anderson

Tatum Burstrom, Carson-Newman

Madison Lenox, Brevard

Second Team

Morgan Cooper, Lenoir-Rhyne

Jecca Simerly, Carson-Newman

Morgan Mcgee, Wingate

Alexis Dillard, Anderson