WISE, Va. – Looking to extend its South Atlantic Conference winning streak to its longest in five years, Carson-Newman aims for an eighth straight league victory on Wednesday night travelling to take on UVA Wise at the Prior Convocation Center.
During the seven-game winning streak, the Lady Eagles have not trailed by more than eight points (versus Tusculum) leading for at least 30 minutes in four of the seven outings. The unit has allowed just three scoring runs of 8-0 or greater in that stretch while posting 12 of its own.
While Carson-Newman (12-6, 7-1) is 9-0 against UVA Wise (13-7, 4-5), eight of the nine have come by double figures with the average margin of victory sitting at 17. The only time a game was not decided by at least 10 came on Feb. 10, 2021 at Wise with the Lady Eagles coming way with a 92-89 triumph.
Coach Mike Mincey's team started its current winning streak with a 75-54 victory at Holt Fieldhouse on Dec. 10 against the Cavaliers. C-N forced 21 turnovers and scored 30 points off of those giveaways adding 16 second-chance points while Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) tallied a game-high 27 points.
Coach Jamie Cluesman's team has won five the last seven times on the floor but lost 85-68 on Saturday in a visit to Limestone. While the Convocation Center has typically been a homecourt advantage, Wise has lost three of its last five inside of the friendly confines.
The Cavaliers are one of the stronger defensive teams in the league ranking third in the SAC and No. 31 nationally in field-goal percentage defense with 36 percent while ranking third nationally with 5.6 blocks per game. Four players are in the top 15 in the conference paced by 46 swats from Kaitlin Bailey, good for fourth in the country. The Anderson transfer has multiple blocks in 10 games.
At the offensive end of the floor, the unit is the second-most efficient team in the league behind Wingate shooting 43 percent but it ranks 10th with 20 turnovers per game. Wise has turned the ball over at least 19 times on 16 occasions while winning the four other affairs with fewer than 19.
While Josie Hester is second in the SAC in three-pointers with 50, the team ranks 12th in the league with four per game on average. The Cavs have not made more than seven in any contest this year attempting more than 15 just six times. Hester has converted 50 of the team's 86 for the year with 11 outings of at least three.
Nia Vanzant, the team's leading scorer with 16 per game, missed the first meeting this year and has been in double figures in 15 of 16 contests. Caitlyn Ross is second in the country with 7.6 assists per game with at least five in 19 of 20 including three of 10-plus.
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.
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