Carson-Newman Women's Basketball Game Notes
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After suffering its first setback of the year at Lincoln Memorial on Nov. 24, Carson-Newman is back in action Thursday night at Holt Fieldhouse for a 6 p.m. opening tip-off against North Georgia.
The Lady Eagles (4-1) shot 27.4 percent from the floor in the game against the Railsplitters including a 7-for-30 clip from the floor in the second half.
After a nine-day layoff, Carson-Newman gets to play on its home court where the Lady Eagles are 41-17 under Carson-Newman Mike Mincey.
Senior guard Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) is four points away from becoming the 17th member of the 1,000-point club in Carson-Newman women's basketball history. The senior would become the first player since Mandy Mendenhall from 2008-11 to tally over 1,000 points during the course of her career.
Burstrom is leading the team this season is points per game by averaging 15.8 on the year while being highly efficient from the floor and the three-point on the year. Her 44.1 percent shooting from the floor is the seventh-highest in the South Atlantic Conference while she is converting on 46.5 percent of her shots from three-point range, fifth-best in the SAC.
The two sides have played five times in the all-time series with Carson-Newman holding a 3-2 lead. Carson-Newman has won the last three meetings, two of which were less than a month apart in 2012.
The Lady Eagles took home a 63-46 victory at Holt Fieldhouse on Dec. 5, 2012 and a 78-66 win at North Georgia (6-0) on Nov. 16, 2012. Burstrom scored 23 points while going 8-for-11 from the floor and 5-for-7 from three-point range in the Nov. 16 contest.
North Georgia has won at least 20 games in each of its last two seasons and is one of 38 remaining undefeated teams left at the Division II level. Five of the first six games of the year have been decided by at least 10 points with a scoring margin of 17 points per victory so far this year.
The Nighthawks are one of the best teams in the country at protecting the ball having turned the ball over no more than 15 times in a single game this season. With an average of 12 turnovers per night, North Georgia ranks 11th in the nation in turnovers.
Opponents are shooting 31.7 percent from the floor on the year, the 13th-best margin in the country. Outside of the season opener when North Greenville shot 41.2 percent, no team has shot above 31.7 percent with three games of lower than 30 percent in that span.
Junior guard Jordan Livesay is seventh nationally in three-point percentage having made 12 of 20 attempts from distance on the year while averaging 11.2 points per game. Despite playing 64 minutes over the last two games, Livesay has gone 0-for-5 from distance.
Cierra Jackson has been a double-double machine averaging 11.2 points per game and 10.8 rebounds per night on the year. The senior guard has three double-doubles this season and has double-digit rebounds in four of the first six games of the season.
The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off begins the Eagle Sports Network's coverage on Mountain Country 106.3 WPFT-FM and in high definition at cneagles.com/live.
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