JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Looking to match its longest South Atlantic Conference regular-season winning streak in the last five years, Carson-Newman returns to the floor after a week off hosting Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. inside of Holt Fieldhouse.
"LMU can beat anybody," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "Them going on the road and beating Tusculum [last week] is no surprise. Anytime you go on the road it's a big win. They are a good team and it will be a tough challenge. It's a rivalry game on our home floor. They will have the revenge factor in mind and all of that stuff."
The last time the Lady Eagles won nine in a row against the conference came during the 2017-18 campaign over a month stretch in January and February. During the current winning streak, the club has not trailed by double digits and is holding foes to 62 points per game.
After averaging fewer than 69 points per game in the first seven outings of the year, Carson-Newman (13-6, 8-1) is scoring 78 points per game over the past 12 to shoot up to the top scoring team in the league and No. 22 in the nation with 75 overall per night. Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) has vaulted into 12th in the country and tops in the league with 20.3 per game after scoring 25.3 per game in January on 48 percent from the field and 45 percent from deep.
Wednesday is the 93rd meeting between the two programs with the Lady Eagles holding a 56-36 advantage overall behind three straight wins and nine of the last 12. The Orange and Blue are looking for a fourth straight victory over Lincoln Memorial (13-7, 6-5) for the first time since a span of seven from 2009 to 2013.
In the first meeting this season, Mincey's group held the Railsplitters to two points in the third quarter using a 26-2 outburst over a 12-minute period to build up a 19-point lead before settling on a 59-45 victory at Tex Turner Arena on Jan. 7. Carson-Newman's 322-game streak of making at least one three-pointer came to an end as the team went 0-for-11.
Coach Devan Carter's team has won three straight and five of the last six before falling 54-42 to Catawba on Saturday. The Indians forced 16 turnovers and held LMU to 15-for-52, 28 percent, shooting. It came three days after a 63-52 road win at Tusculum last Wednesday where four Railsplitters carried the load and Saquita Joyner and Jordan Maney each posted a double-double.
While the club leads the league with eight three-pointers per game this season, LMU has hit single digits in four of the last five draining 10 or more seven times going 6-1 in those efforts. Alexa Smiddy is third in the league with 2.6 per game. The rookie had 11 straight games in double figures before being held to nine on Saturday.
Defensively, the Railsplitters have held five straight teams below 40 percent since Salem made 44 percent on Jan. 11. Only two of the last opponents have made better than 40 percent and only one, Converse's 71, has crested better than 70 in a game this year.
Joyner ranks fifth in the conference in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (8.1) producing six double-doubles on the year and eight affairs with at least 20 points. In the first meeting, she racked up 10 points in the first frame but finished with 14 for the game on six of 10 shooting.
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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