BEAVERTON, Ore. – Carson-Newman women's basketball coach Mike Mincey was named the Women's Division II Bulletin Coach of the Month for December announced in the publication Thursday morning.
The seventh year leader has C-N off to a 14-0 start for the second time in program history as the team has reached its highest ranking as a Division II member at fifth in the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association poll.
Mincey ran his winning streak to 11 games in December non-conference home games with a 108-64 thrashing of King (Tenn.) on Dec. 30 to improve the team's mark to 6-0 in the final month of 2017. He is 13-2 in non-conference home outings since taking over in 2011-12.
In the history of the South Atlantic Conference, Carson-Newman is the fourth school to reach the top-five in the country. Presbyterian reached the highest mark in February 2000 when it was ranked fourth for two weeks. Tusculum earned a No. 5 ranking in January 2009 and Lincoln Memorial was fifth for a week in late January and early February 2017.
Mincey's unit is one of seven remaining undefeated teams in the nation holding a flawless 14-0 record, more wins than any other Division II club – tied with Azuza Pacific (14-2). In 2009-10, the Lady Eagles rattled off 16 straight wins to open the season rising to eighth in the country in the poll.
Mincey's unit has six outings with at least 100 points marking the most in a single season in school history passing the 1979-80 team's four. Entering this season, the program had scored at least 110 points seven times. The 2017-18 group has done so in four times.
Among many big moments so far on the season, the team set the program record for three-pointers in a game with 17 against Shorter on Nov. 21. C-N has also scored the third and fourth most points in the history of the school with 119 against the reigning region titlists Columbus State on Nov. 26 and 115 against Georgia College on Nov. 18.
The program is third in the nation in scoring offense at 97.6 points per game while ranking in the top-five in America in eight categories.
Women's Division II Bulletin is known as the country's top Division II basketball publication that has been issued since 1993. Each edition includes up-to-the-minute news, regional reports, standings and records for all Division II teams, coaching profiles, plus player and coach awards.
The Lady Eagles turn their attention to a home outing Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. against Catawba to start their second half of the season with seven home games and seven road outings remaining on the docket.
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