JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Coming off of a double overtime win on Wednesday, 20th-ranked Carson-Newman returns home to complete a stretch of four games in seven days with a South Atlantic Conference clash against Wingate Saturday at Holt Fieldhouse starting at 2 p.m.
"Wingate is always a tough program," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "We lost to them at home last year. Hopefully we are fresher with two days rest going in against Wingate on Saturday. It's been a hard year with Covid. We are trying to make up all of the games. We are making it more difficult by scheduling games on Monday. I think a game like [Wednesday's win] with Tusculum being 9-0, for us to come win on their court, it's going to be rest and recovery with a shorter turnaround."
Carson-Newman (6-0, 6-0) has won nine consecutive regular-season games and 13 of its last 14 dating back to a loss at Tusculum on Feb. 19, 2020. Of the 23 undefeated teams this year, only Drury (8-0) and Nebraska-Kearney (10-0) have more victories. There are 21 clubs that have yet to lose a league contest with the Lady Eagles being one of five with six-plus in the win column.
The Orange and Blue have rattled off eight home victories in a row since losing in double overtime to No. 20 Anderson on Feb. 1, 2020 on a buzzer beater. Six of the eight games have been decided by double figures with the unit winning by an average of 20 (156 total points). C-N is averaging 87 points per game (697) over that time.
Saturday will be the 78th meeting between the two programs with Wingate (4-5, 4-4) holding a 44-33 lead. The two clubs have split the last six meetings with each group winning on the road in the series last year. The Bulldogs won at Holt Fieldhouse 95-89 despite trailing for nearly 27 minutes and by a dozen with under a minute to play in the fourth.
The roles reversed on Jan. 25 when Carson-Newman racked up 17 steals and scored a season-high 36 points off of turnovers earning its largest victory ever at Cuddy Arena beating Wingate 77-55. The Lady Eagles had lost six straight road games against the Bulldogs, who turned the ball over 27 times.
Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) scored at least 20 points in both games shooting 55 percent from the floor. The sophomore ranks fifth in the country in scoring with 24 points per night. After making 44 percent from behind the arc as a freshman, she is at 30 percent this season. Despite the inaccuracy, she is converting on 59 percent (40-for-68) inside of the three-point line.
The Bulldogs streak of six straight 20-win seasons came to an end in 2019-20 as the team finished 17-13, the first time since Ann Hancock's first year in 2012-13 that the school did not win 20 games. They finished .500 in the conference after winning 76 percent of SAC efforts in the prior six campaigns.
After starting the year with three double-digit losses, the Bulldogs are finding their path winning three of their last four outings. Since the calendar flipped to January, four of the six contests have been decided six or fewer points with the club splitting those games.
Despite ranking 11th in the league in field-goal percentage, Wingate has been one of the best teams in the country at getting to the free-throw line ranking 14th in attempts posting 22 per game with at least 15 in every game. It is the best foul shooting team in the league making 78 percent.
The Bulldogs are a strong rebounding crew with a plus-six margin on the glass, good for fourth in the league. They are sixth in the nation in offensive rebounding hauling in 18 per game with double digits in all nine affairs including an eye-popping 30 against UVA Wise on Dec. 2.
Haleigh Hatfield is the team's leading at 14 points per game on the year adding 10 boards per night, good for third. Her three double-doubles rank fourth in the conference. After scoring in double figures in each of the first five contests, she has been held to single digits twice in the last four tallying slightly under 10 points per game.
Jaia Wilson is the only other player posting double figures on a nightly basis with 10.2 per night but she has failed to hit that mark in three of the last five. Over her last three outings, she is making 35 percent from the field and scoring eight points.
Tune into the broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network starting at 1:45 for "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off" on 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) with audio and video streams available on cneagles.com/live free of charge.
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