JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman hosts its annual Play4Kay game Saturday afternoon looking to win a third consecutive and seventh out of eight games as South Atlantic Conference foe Coker swings by Holt Fieldhouse for a 2 p.m. tip-off.
"It's so important," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "So many people are affected by cancer. It's a great way for us as athletes to show awareness and to make sure that we teach our players about it. We are so appreciative to be able to play a sport and give back to the cause."
Women's basketball teams from around the country have participated in the event for the last 11 seasons in honor of NC State coach Kay Yow. The Lady Eagles are joining the national free-throw challenge as people can donate one dollar for each made foul shot from Saturday's game. All of the proceeds are going to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
Join your #1 free throw shooting team in the nation and help donate to the @KayYowFund! Every free throw made against Coker on Saturday (2/9/19) counts! Click the link below ⬇️ https://t.co/DCsrRR9eoy pic.twitter.com/0bpECgdHmR
— CN Women's Hoops (@CNwbasketball) February 4, 2019
After producing 11 games with at least 100 points a year, Carson-Newman (17-5, 10-4) scored its first triple-digit effort of the season on Wednesday night. The last time the team had back-to-back efforts came at Holt Fieldhouse against Queens and Tusculum on Feb. 10-14, 2019 scoring 112 and 100.
Senior guard Haris Price (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) has been otherworldly since the calendar flipped to 2019. The reigning SAC and TSWA Player of the Week is averaging 25 points per game while shooting 60 percent from the field and 61 percent from deep, 27-for-44. Over nine games, she has five with at least 25 including a 39- and 44-point effort.
Saturday marks the 13th meeting between C-N and Coker (5-17, 4-10) as Mincey's crew has a commanding 10-2 lead with wins in each of the last seven outings. The average differential in that span has been just south of 30 points per game with a pair of 100-point efforts and six with at least 80.
The first meeting this year on Dec. 12, saw the Cobras hold a 25-24 lead after the first quarter before C-N went into the locker room ahead by seven. The Lady Eagles scored 20 of the first 21 points after halftime to seize control before settling for a final bulge of 26 points at 89-63.
Briana Smith (Nashville, Tenn.) scored a career-high 25 points in the game going 10-for-10 at the free-throw line and stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, a career-high five steals and four assists. The senior has scored in double figures in all but one meeting with the Cobras over her career doing so six times and each of the last five.
6⃣ @HarisJordan
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) February 7, 2019
4⃣ @KaylaMarosites
3⃣ @AddisonByrd3
2⃣ @KelciMarosites
2⃣ @littleTorgriff
2⃣ @madisonbunch33
1⃣ @bri_swish
1⃣ @abby22wilson
2⃣1⃣ Made 3⃣ Pointers for @CNwbasketball, a new @SAC_Athletics record. pic.twitter.com/cP3latfu9n
Coker has lost three of its last four after winning back-to-back road games at Mars Hill and Newberry over a three-day period two weeks ago. The team started the season 1-10 but has won four of the last 11 contests.
The Cobras have been a better road team going 4-8 away from the DeLoach Center while winning just one of nine home contests. Coach Shannon Johnson's team is scoring 10 more points shooting 40 percent from the floor. The efficiency numbers are higher across the board as the team is making just 50 percent of foul shots.
The Cobras have been a better road team going 4-8 away from the DeLoach Center while winning just one of nine home contests. Coach Shannon Johnson's team is scoring 10 more points shooting 40 percent from the floor. The efficiency numbers are higher across the board as the team is making just 50 percent of foul shots.
Only five teams in America commit more fouls per game than Coker's 24 per contest. There have been 10 games this season where they have registered at least 25 fouls and only five with fewer than 20, winning two of those.
The Cobras have the third-worst free-throw percentage in the nation making just 59 percent of their attempts on the year. That number is despite the fact that the club has been to the line at least 12 times in every game this season and at least 15 times in 19 games. Over the last four, that margin dips to 45 percent at 41-for-91.
In the first outing this season, Coker's bench scored 38 points led by 15 points and 10 rebounds from Hope Richardson over 19 minutes. Erin Houser and Elizabeth Kincaid each notched 10 points. Houser is eighth in the league in rebounding at seven per game. Her three offensive caroms per night is good for second to Kayla Marosites (Elizabethton, Tenn.) for a team that is fourth in the SAC with 14 on the offensive end per night.
For those that cannot make it to the contest, grab your favorite snack and beverage and cozy up on the couch to check out the broadcast on 106.3 (WPFT-FM) with video and audio streams available on cneagles.com/live starting at 1:45 p.m. with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off" on the Eagle Sports Network.
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