JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With three home games left on the docket, Carson-Newman begins a two-game homestand Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. against South Atlantic Conference foe Lenoir-Rhyne inside of Holt Fieldhouse.
"Everybody is playing for something different at this point in time," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "Everybody's stress level is different. Obviously they are wanting to make the tournament. They are one of those middle of the pack teams that I consider a dangerous team. If you don't show up and play well you can carry a loss home.
"At home we have already given up three. We can't afford to give up anymore. We know what our goals are and what we are shooting for. We talk about it just about every day. The players know what's at stake when we take the floor Wednesday night."
Carson-Newman (16-6, 12-4) is 6-3 at home this season losing by six to Wingate on Nov. 30, by five to Tusculum on Jan. 15 and by a pair on a buzzer beater in double overtime to No. 20 Anderson on Feb. 1. In two of those games the Lady Eagles have led for at least 20 minutes while holding leads in the final five minutes in each affair.
Offense has not been an issue for Mincey's team inside of Holt Fieldhouse where the team is averaging 94 points per game shooting 47 percent from the field and 41 percent from long range making an average of 13 three-pointers in nine home games.
After limiting its first two opponents in Holt Fieldhouse to sub-40 percent shooting, C-N has yielded a 42 percent shooting margin and 36 percent shooting from long range giving up at least eight triples three times. Of the 28 quarters played in that span, foes has shot at least 50 percent 11 times.
Wednesday's outing is the 76th meeting against Lenoir-Rhyne (9-13, 7-9) with C-N holding a 46-29 all-time lead in the series including a 24-10 mark in games played at Jefferson City. Mincey is 10-10 against the Bears with half of those wins coming at home.
The Lady Eagles have won two in a row and six of the last seven winning by no fewer than seven points with four double-digit triumphs and a pair of 20-plus point efforts. C-N has eclipsed 80 points four times during the recent run.
In C-N's 82-60 win on Jan. 8, the team led 49-19 to halftime courtesy of making six of eight three-pointers in the first 10 minutes of the game. Kayla Marosites, one of four double-digit scorers, registered her 11th double-double of the season with 24 points, 13 rebounds and three assists going 9-for-14 from the field.
After winning four of five games, Lenoir-Rhyne has dropped three of its last four outings. It has dropped the team into a three-way for sixth on the league table. The Bears are one game clear of UVa-Wise for the final slot in the conference tournament but hold a win over the Cavaliers.
Coach Cameron Sealey has played the last three-plus games without the team's leading scorer Madeline Hardy who was injured after six minutes against Tusculum on Jan. 29. Hardy ranked fifth in the conference in rebounding and sixth in scoring.
The offense has struggled in Hardy's absence with the team averaging 51 points per game making 31 percent from the floor and 24 percent from beyond the arc. L-R has been held below 30 percent shooting twice in the last three games.
Despite ranking fifth in the conference in rebounding at 39.5 per game but ranks 10th in the SAC in rebounding margin at minus-2. The club has racked up 40 or more boards in 14 of the 22 outings in 2019-20.
The Bears are ninth in the conference in scoring defense allowing 68 points per game as teams are shooting 39 percent from the field. At the other end of the floor, L-R shoots just shy of 39 percent and scores 65 points, both areas that rank in the bottom half of the conference.
The only other double figure scorer on a nightly basis is Kennedy Weigt who posts 10.3 per game. She has attempted the 15th-most triples in the nation but is making 30 percent. Since a 21-point outburst against Queens on Jan. 25, she is 12-for-53, 23 percent, from the field and 9-for-39, 23 percent, from deep.
Fans can enjoy a night of basketball for free on the Eagle Sports Network. If residents of the Lakeway region want to kick back to listen to the radio they can flip on Mountain Country 106.3 WPFT-FM. For those outside of the area, a high definition video stream and an audio option is available on cneagles.com/live beginning at 5:15 p.m. with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off".
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