JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the fourth time this season, Carson-Newman is slated to play a nationally-ranked opponent hosting No. 8/3 North Georgia at Holt Fieldhouse looking to get back into the win column on Saturday at 2 p.m.
"We are shooting ourselves in the foot too much with ill-advised plays," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "They are playing hard and want to win. You can't turn the ball over four times late in the game especially when the other team has gone cold. It's a tough stretch. North Georgia is coming in undefeated. Teams are playing well."
Over the last 15 years, the most top 25 teams that the Lady Eagles have played in a single year has been five on two occasions coming in 2017-18 and in 2021-22. Four of those 10 came in the postseason while the unit has overall played 13 total in the first semester entering this season.
With the Nighthawks sitting at No. 3 in the media poll, C-N has a chance to record a win over the highest-ranked team since 2008 with the previous coming against fifth-ranked Tusculum on Jan. 17, 2009, a 90-87 victory. Starting the year with a victory over 10th-ranked Lander, the Lady Eagles could get their second win over a top 10 team in 22 days after posting two in the prior 12 years.
Carson-Newman (3-4) is looking is looking to snap a three-game losing streak to North Georgia (6-0) dating back to a 91-78 win in the Peach State on Nov. 17, 2018. The Orange and Blue are 5-1 in Holt Fieldhouse against the Nighthawks with the last meeting coming in the 2018 Regional Semifinal, a 75-71 triumph for the school's first regional championship.
In the first meeting this year, South Atlantic Conference Tournament MVP Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) saw her season end with a knee injury four minutes into the game but Mincey's club held an 11-point lead and was on top for nearly 25 minutes before seeing the home group limit C-N to 2-for-14 shooting in the fourth quarter to win 76-70.
Coach Buffie Burson's group is one of 26 remaining undefeated teams in the country but has four wins by six points or less this season including a one-point victory over Lees-McRae and a two-point win over King on Monday. The team has won 11 straight regular-season games since a 68-56 setback to Clayton State on Feb. 9, 2022. Eleven of the team's last 15 losses since 2018 have been on the road.
North Georgia has a minus-four turnover margin for the year forcing 12 per game, the 13th-fewest among Division II clubs with four teams tallying 12 or fewer for the year. On Monday, the club turned the ball over 26 times after having 18 or fewer through the first five games.
Buoyed by 17 three-pointers at Montevallo on Nov. 22, the Nighthawks are making nine per game, good for 21st in the country. One third of the team's scoring production comes from beyond the arc. However the unit is making 64 percent at the charity stripe, 227th in America with only two games above 70 percent.
Caroline Martin, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting, leads a trio of double-digit scorers with 18 points and eight rebounds per game. She has at least 15 points in each game other than an eight-point outlier against Montevallo where she didn't go to the foul line after attempting at least six in every other game.
Clemson transfer Kaylee Sticker has made 48 percent from the field this year and is coming off of her first double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds against the Tornado on Monday. She has been in double figures in five straight and is 19-for-36 shooting over her last three.
Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and cneagles.com/live starting at 1:45 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network. Video is available with your subscription to FloSports.
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