JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman women's basketball is getting ready for the 2019-20 season that features seven outings against NCAA Tournament teams with Mike Mincey's crew traveling for 16 of the 28 games on the docket.
The Lady Eagles play just one of their first six games inside of Holt Fieldhouse, a Nov. 13 affair against King at 5:30 p.m. That stretch features a first round rematch against Lander on the Bearcats' home floor in the second affair of the season on Nov. 9 at 3 p.m. It ends with a visit to the reigning region champions, North Georgia on Nov. 23 at 3:30 p.m.
"Obviously we would like to be at home as much as we can," Mincey said. "It starts out with our challenge to play Aiken and Lander. The first weekend and the third weekend we get to play four Peach Belt schools. They are really talented teams. I think those early games give us a chance to see what kind of talent we have. Any time you play really good opponents it's going to set you up for conference play."
Overall, Mincey's crew does not have an extended homestand on the ledger all season playing at most two straight home games, doing so on three occasions in three separate months. The closest the club comes to home comfort in a string of four of five from late November through the end of the first semester.
The Orange and Blue are hoping that recent trends continue as the club is 27-7 over the last two campaigns in road and neutral affairs. Mincey's teams have always been great at home sporting an 88-27 mark at Holt Fieldhouse in his tenure including a 39-6 tally since 2016.
Carson-Newman is looking to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive campaign, something the school has not accomplished since joining the Division II ranks. The program is also looking to win 20 games for a fourth year in-a-row, something that has not occurred since the 1980s.
For a 16th consecutive campaign, Carson-Newman and Tennessee meet in an exhibition contest as the Lady Vols have won each outing posting triple digits in 12 of the 15 affairs. The series dates back to 1920 when the Lady Eagles picked up a 14-13 triumph. The Big Orange has won 26 meetings in-a-row since C-N won 36-16 on Feb. 9, 1925.
"You have a new coaching staff and there is a lot of excitement down there," Mincey said. "We go into that game with goals in mind. We want to challenge them as best we can. Obviously they are going to have a lot more size and speed than us. Going to play in that environment against that talent and that level it's always going to help us. There are certain things that we are going to see against Tennessee that maybe we won't see when we face Lander or Aiken primarily the size differential and length."
Continuing the early season tradition that began in 2014-15, the first two opponents of the year will be USC Aiken and Lander as the Lady Eagles travel to Greenwood, S.C. for this year's iteration of the SAC/Peach Belt Challenge. C-N is 9-1 in the first 10 games with the lone loss coming on Nov. 12, 2016 to 21st-ranked Lander in Harrogate, Tenn.
"It's going to be a tough tournament to start out with," Mincey said. "Once we play them we will find out. Right now we don't know who the starting lineup is going to be. We don't know who the rotation will be. That is all going to work itself out as we go through the preseason and into the first week of practice."
After a home-and-home situation with King the following week, the Lady Eagles hit the road to challenge Clayton State and North Georgia on Nov. 22-23 to finish non-conference play. C-N has won each of the last four contests that it has played in Dahlonega, Ga. since a 68-59 setback to the Nighthawks on Dec. 7, 2016.
South Atlantic Conference play opens up inside of Holt Fieldhouse on Nov. 26 at 5:30 p.m. versus Lincoln Memorial with the Lady Eagles playing four of their first five SAC affairs inside of the friendly confines. The one road trip in that set is against last year's SAC champions and top seed in the Southeast Region, Anderson on Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. Small College Bulletin has tabbed Anderson as preseason No. 16, Lander at preseason No. 20 and C-N at 26th.
"We are playing of the other seven NCAA Tournament teams before we get to almost December," Mincey said. "It's really important that we are preparing well now. We are progressing nicely. It's obviously a little bit of a different team that we have had in the past. We will find out pretty quickly what we are made of. What happens in November is not necessarily what is going to tell the tale in March. If we get through that stretch in a pretty good manner in terms of wins and losses then that sets us up pretty well going into December and the first of the year."
After Christmas break, 10 of the final 17 games of the campaign are on the road starting with five of eight in January. The longest road trip of the second semester starts on Jan. 19 for a three-game trip before the Lady Eagles close out the year on Feb. 29 at 2 p.m. versus Newberry on Senior Day.
Each game during the 2019-20 campaign can be heard on the Eagle Sports Network's flagship station The Mountain 106.3 WPFT-FM with home outings available on cneagles.com/live in high definition video. Pregame coverage starts 15 minutes before tip with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off". In the meantime be sure to follow @CNathletics and @CNwbasketball on Twitter for the most recent updates.
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