VIDEO: C-N v. LMU Highlights (Nov. 26, 2019)
HARROGATE, Tenn. – With wins in each of its last four road games, Carson-Newman looks to keep the ball rolling with a trip to Tex Turner Arena continuing South Atlantic Conference season Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. against Lincoln Memorial.
During the four-game road winning streak, the Lady Eagles have led for 129:30 of 160 minutes winning by an average of 16 points per game. Defense has provided the team's strong point as foes are shooting 34 percent (88-260) and scoring 61 points per game.
"It's a rivalry game," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "The games between us and LMU have always been pretty intense. We have played a lot of meaningful games against them over the last few years. We see the future but we are living in the present. We know what is at stake when we go up to LMU in a gym that like Cuddy Arena we have not played very well in the last couple years."
Wednesday marks the first time that Lincoln Memorial transfer Qua Hines (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) will play against her former school. Since the sophomore became eligible on Dec. 14, Carson-Newman (13-5, 9-3) is 8-1. Despite averaging five points per game, Hines has provided an impact offensively with a team-high 37 assists producing 14 percent of the team's assists in that stretch with a 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
"I don't really use this term but she has a swagger about her," Mincey said. "It is contagious to the rest of our players. It is really hard to explain the confidence that she provides for the rest of our players. I hear her voice a lot motivating players. She has that leadership quality to her to where she can do other things on the floor than just be a high volume shooter. She's a phenomenal passer. She doesn't care to give it up. The more that she is with us, the more you see her game coming out because she is a really talented player. I think she has been our missing piece and now that we have her we are playing really well."
The Orange and Blue hold a 51-34 through 85 meetings but are 18-19 inside of Tex Turner Arena in the series including a 2-6 mark under Mincey. After winning 91-80 last season in Harrogate, C-N is looking to beat Lincoln Memorial (6-10, 5-7) on its home floor in two straight seasons for the first time since 2011 and 2012.
When the teams dueled in Holt Fieldhouse on Nov. 26, Carson-Newman secured its largest victory over Lincoln Memorial since 1984 using four double-digit scorers to start the South Atlantic Conference slate with an 85-58 victory. The difference of 27 points was the largest margin in the series since winning by 33 points, 89-56, in 1984 at Holt Fieldhouse.
Lincoln Memorial failed to produce a double-digit scorer on the night. It is the first time that a C-N foe failed to register an individual with at least 10 points in 404 games and 4,752 days when Livingstone saw its leading scorer notch eight on Nov. 25, 2006.
The Railsplitters enter Wednesday night's action in eighth in the league standings, one game clear of UVa-Wise for the final spot in the conference tournament but the club has lost three straight and seven of the last nine.
There are not many areas where the team ranks in the top half of the league statistically. Two strong suits are steals per game where the unit is picking up 9.1 pilfers per night and three-point defense at 28.6. The latter will provide an interesting dynamic as C-N has made 200 triples, second-most in the country, and is the ninth-most efficient team in America this year at 39 percent.
LMU ranks 10th in the league and 243rd in the country in scoring offense posting 61 points per game shooting 38 percent as a team, eighth in the SAC while making five three-pointers on average.
The Railsplitters have been held below 40 percent shooting a dozen times this season posting 34 percent and 23 percent shooting efforts from the field and deep in the 10 losses this year. Half of the setbacks have come by 10 points or fewer.
Lauren Flowers is the only player scoring in double figures each night scoring 10.9 per contest. Despite the season average, she has scored single digits in five of the last seven shooting 30 percent from the field over that period. After making six three-pointers in her first four games, Flowers has made two since missing 16 straight over her last nine since she last made one on Dec. 7 against Queens.
Wednesday's affair can be enjoyed on two platforms. Radio coverage can be found on 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) with an audio stream available on cneagles.com/live starting at 5:15 p.m. with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off".
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