ANDERSON, S.C. – As the top four teams in the South Atlantic Conference begin to pull away from the rest of the pack, Carson-Newman's next two games are against two of the other top four starting with a road trip to Anderson on Saturday for a 2 p.m. clash.
Touting a 42-11 road record since the start of 2017, the Lady Eagles are in danger of losing two straight road affairs for the first time since falling at No. 15 North Georgia on Nov. 23, 2019 and at No. 16 Anderson on Dec. 7 by a combined eight points. To find the last time C-N lost to two unranked teams on the road in a row, go back to Dec. 7-17, 2016 with losses by nine to North Georgia and one to Lenoir-Rhyne.
When the teams meet on Saturday, Carson-Newman (10-3, 8-2) will have a chance to record its longest winning streak over Anderson (8-6, 8-2) in the history of the series with a fourth straight win. The current three-game string is the fourth time that the Lady Eagles have won a trio of contests in a row.
Through 28 meetings, the Orange and Blue hold a 16-12 lead and won the first meeting this year 70-68 on Dec. 4. C-N battled back after trailing by a dozen at halftime thanks to a 28-12 third quarter. It was the biggest halftime deficit overcome since March 2, 2019 when Mincey's unit were behind by 14 at halftime to Newberry.
The contest was a clash of elite scoring guards as Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) scored 19 of her team-high 21 points after halftime. Shameka McNeill fouled out but finished with a game-high 30 points in 29 minutes on 9-for-16 shooting. She made seven of nine from three-point range after entering the game shooting 17 percent from distance.
The Trojans had lost three straight games before bouncing No. 17 Catawba from the undefeated ranks with an 85-81 victory over the Indians on Wednesday. McNeill and Brittney Stafford, making her first career appearance in the gold and black, combined for 56 points making 20 of 37 from the field. Britney Bailey added 18 as the other four players to suit up combined to score 11 points.
Anderson is the best defensive team in the conference this year holding opponents to 37 percent shooting overall for the year. To bolster the unit, it ranks 10th nationally with 45 rebounds per night. In the first meeting, The Trojans tallied 24 second-chance points in the first 20 minutes before being limited to four in the second half. Despite being outrebounded for the game 54-41, C-N held a 23-21 edge in the second stanza.
Offensively the team has been hot and cold sitting eighth in the league in field-goal percentage with a 40 percent line while ranking 12th in free-throw percentage converting 65 percent despite getting to the line with the second-highest frequency.
Turnovers have been an issue on both sides as the team has a minus-four turnover margin on the year giving the ball away 19 times on average per evening. When the team has at least 18 turnovers, it is 4-6 whereas it is undefeated when that digit is 17 or lower.
McNeill has been the star scoring weapon ranking second in the SAC and No. 17 in the country in scoring at 20 per night thanks to six games of at least 20 points and a pair of 30-point outbursts. Subtract her 7-for-9 performance from deep against C-N this year and she has made 19 trifectas shooting 25 percent.
Broadcast coverage airs on the Eagle Sports Network starting at 1:45 for "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off" on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) with an audio stream available on cneagles.com/live free of charge.
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