JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – First-place in the Mountain Division of the South Atlantic Conference is on the line when Carson-Newman and Tusculum, leading the slot by a game, renew their rivalry Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. inside of Holt Fieldhouse.
Some of the Lady Eagles most efficient games on both ends this season have come against league foes as the unit is averaging 75 points per game through the first six SAC outings of the year. During the four-game winning streak, clubs are posting 54 points per game and each of the four have shot below 40 percent.
Carson-Newman (9-6, 4-2) bucked a trend in Saturday's win over Lincoln Memorial picking up its first win of the year in five tries when failing to score more than 70 points in a game. It was the first time since Jan. 28, 2017 at Queens, a 58-47 victory, that the Lady Eagles won a game where it did not score more than 60 in a contest, a span of 134 wins.
Wednesday is the 80th clash between the two clubs since 1979 with C-N holding a 59-20 overall lead that includes a 34-6 mark inside of Holt Fieldhouse. After dropping three straight, the Orange and Blue have won each of the last three meetings with the contests in 2021-22 being decided by 28 and 16.
Tusculum (14-2, 5-1) was held to 66 points in each matchup a year ago while the Lady Eagles scored 94 on 52 percent shooting and 82 behind 10 triples. In each game, C-N saw a player off of the bench erupt with Abby Wilson scoring 18 on the road and Tori Rutherford (Rutledge, Tenn.) netted 16 at home.
Coach Meagan Price's team had won 11 straight contests before falling 68-59 at Limestone last Wednesday before rebounding to throttle Mars Hill 82-44 on Saturday. While the Pioneers are 8-0 at home, the club is 3-2 on the road averaging 13 points per game fewer away from Greeneville.
Tusculum excels on the defensive end of the floor ranking second in the country in field-goal percentage defense allowing 33 percent, and points per game allowed at 49.9. The Pioneers are also tops nationally in rebounding margin outrebounding foes by an average of 14 per night.
Offensively, the unit ranks second in the conference in scoring at 74 points per game good for a plus-24 scoring margin that ranks third in the nation. With 19.4 assists per game, the group ranks second nationally. Only one of the team's 14 victories have come by single digits for the year beating Southern Wesleyan by six on Dec. 17.
Barton transfer Jami Tham has played a key role in the team's success for the year leading the nation with 16 double-doubles for the year sitting second nationally with 14 rebounds per game and third in the league with 18 points per game. She has been in double figures scoring in every game with five 20-point scoring nights led by a season-high 31 at Mars Hill on Dec. 10. The forward has five games with at least 15 boards and has at least 14 in five in a row.
Blayre Shultz, a Coastal Carolina transfer, is second on the roster in scoring posting nearly 15 per night with 11 games of 10 or more with two of five or less. The guard is coming off of a season-high 28 against the Lions on Saturday. Between Tham, Schultz and Mya Belton, the trio have attempted 63 percent of the team's shots.
Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and cneagles.com/live starting at 5:15 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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