JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey added a fourth member to the 2021 recruiting class Thursday bringing in Maryville's Gracie Midkiff to join a club that won its sixth South Atlantic Conference title Wednesday night.
"Gracie is a great shooter with a quick release," Mincey said. "She can do so much more than her specialty which is hit from three. She has a very high basketball IQ and I'm really impressed with her vision to set up her teammates with great passes. She comes from a tradition rich program at Maryville coached by Scott West and knows how to win. With what we are about and how we look to play, she will fit perfectly. We look forward to have her on the roster at C-N."
On the hardwood, Midkiff has scored north of 1,100 points hitting better than 43 percent of her career three-point shots. She is a three-time All-District 4-AAA selection and a two-time all-region pick. In addition to her three-point acumen, the sharpshooter has dished out nearly 500 assists. As a senior in 2021, Midkiff has drilled better than 80 long distance jumpers averaging 15 points and four assists per game shooting 83 percent at the free-throw line.
As a team, Maryville has won a district title, a region championship and went to the state tournament in 2020 with Midkiff running the show winning better than 100 games with a winning percentage of 84 percent. In the semifinals of this year's district tournament, she dropped 30 points helping her club to the title game.
She joins Ruth Mbugua, Campbell Penland and Tori Rutherford as members of the 2021 recruiting class. Rutherford and Penland were named District Players of the Year with Penland being named the MVP of the district tournament. That duo and Midkiff are all slated to play in the upcoming region tournament.
The Lady Eagles have won 20 games in each of the last four seasons reaching the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championships. The Lady Eagles have led the South Atlantic Conference in scoring in five straight seasons and is one of three Division II teams and one of four teams in the top two NCAA divisions to rank in the top seven nationally in scoring over the last four campaigns.
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