C-N Women's Basketball Game Notes
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – South Atlantic Conference action resumes as Carson-Newman looks to snap a six-game losing streak to Wingate Saturday afternoon when the Bulldogs come to Mossy Creek for a 2 p.m. tip-off at Holt Fieldhouse.
Carson-Newman (8-5, 5-2) has won back-to-back games and is looking for a three-game winning streak for the first time since Jan. 13 to Jan. 21, 2016, a string of 25 games without a trio of wins in succession.
Saturday is the 73rd all-time meeting between Carson-Newman and Wingate (9-3, 5-2) with the Bulldogs holding a 41-31 advantage in the series having won six straight contests in the series by an average of eight points per victory.
The Lady Eagles last victory over Wingate came in the 2012-13 regular season finale on March 2, 2013, a 56-50 decision at Holt Fieldhouse. Tatum Burstrom scored 12 points as C-N outscored Wingate 39-24 in the second half.
The Bulldogs won the last meeting 81-65 on Feb. 20, 2016 at Mossy Creek. Wingate became the first team since 2000 to shoot 60 percent against Carson-Newman going 30-for-50 in the game and making 67 percent of its shots in the final 20 minutes.
Wingate, the defending SAC Tournament champion, was picked as the favorite in the preseason coaches' poll with nine first-place votes. The Bulldogs were one of two teams to qualify for the NCAA Championships a season ago falling as the No. 6 seed to third-seeded Columbus State 79-72.
Coach Ann Hancock returns preseason second-team guard Shelby Tricoli and a pair of all-freshman performers from a year ago in Danasia Witherspoon and Courtney Robinson.
The Bulldogs are riding a four-game winning streak with their last loss coming in double overtime to undefeated Lincoln Memorial, 84-83, on Dec. 14. They are 5-1 on the road this season with the lone setback coming on Nov. 30 at Newberry in a 72-63 decision.
Rebounding has been the strong suit for Wingate as it ranks fifth in the country with 46.9 rebounds per night, seventh with a plus-11.7 rebound margin and eighth with 18 offensive rebounds per game leading the SAC in each category.
The Lady Eagles have outrebounded their opponent in eight straight games dating back to Nov. 27, 2016 when they lost the battle on the boards 46-39 at Columbus State. C-N fourth in the league in rebounds per game with 41.6 per night and fifth in rebound margin at plus-4.5.
The majority of Wingate's offense comes inside of the three-point arc ranking sixth from the bottom in three-pointers per game at 2.5. The Bulldogs convert 61 percent of their free throws, 285th in Division II on the year.
Junior center Marta Miscenko is the reigning league Player of the Week and ranks fifth in the league with 17.1 points per game, second with 10.4 rebounds per night, third in field-goal percentage at 50 percent and is sixth nationally with 3.09 blocks per game. Her six double-doubles lead the SAC and are 21st in the nation.
There are three broadcast options for Saturday's affair thanks to the work of the Eagle Sports Network. Mountain Country 106.3 WPFT-FM is the radio home in the Lakeway region while audio and video streams are available on cneagles.com/live beginning at 1:45 p.m. with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off".
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