JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In a rematch of the 2022 South Atlantic Conference Tournament final, Carson-Newman, the top seed in the Mountain Division, hosts Anderson, the No. 4 seed from the Piedmont, in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.
Carson-Newman (17-11) is 30-29 all-time in the SAC Women's Basketball Championships with three titles in 2005, 2018 and 2022 appearing in seven championship games in 1995, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2018 and 2022. The Lady Eagles have hosted a quarterfinal matchup 22 times with an 18-4 record.
The Lady Eagles are one of three teams along with Catawba and Wingate to participate in each SAC Tournament since the first iteration in 1991. C-N is looking to be the fifth program in league history to repeat as titlists as it has been done seven times before. Wingate has done in thrice most recently in 2016 and 2017. Tusculum (2010-11 and 2020-21) and Newberry (2006-07) have each done it and Presbyterian is the only program to do so in three consecutive campaigns from 1998 to 2000.
This season is the third time in the history of the league that a rematch of the prior year's title game is a quarterfinal matchup. Most recently, seventh-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne beat second-seeded Wingate, the 2014 champions, 80-69 in 2015. The other matchup came in 2002 when third-seeded Catawba, the 2001 titlist, beat sixth-seeded Wingate 73-72.
Wednesday night is the 32nd overall meeting with the Lady Eagles holding a 19-12 advantage behind six wins in a row since a 102-100 double overtime loss at Holt Fieldhouse on Feb. 1, 2020. This will be the third meeting in the postseason with C-N winning 83-58 in the 2022 final and 70-62 in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
When the teams met on Feb. 11, Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) poured in a career-high 44 points while becoming the school's all-time leader in career triples and crossing over the 2,000-point threshold. The Orange and Blue led by as many as 18 points with 2:45 to go in the game before Anderson (16-12) scored 14 of the final 16 points of the day.
The Trojans closed the year on a high note winning each of the final three games of the year by double figures. However the group was 9-3 at home and 6-8 on the road this season averaging 65 points per game away from home being more efficient across the board including shooting 60 percent at the free-throw line.
Coach Jonathon Barbaree's team has reached the final round in three of the last four years and been to the semifinals in five straight seasons since losing as the second seed to seventh-seeded Catawba 70-64 in the 2017 quarterfinals. Anderson has won two league titles since joining the league and appeared in the finals six times.
Anderson remains one of the best rebounding teams in the country with a plus-five margin leading the league with 15 offensive rebounds per game. There have been 23 games where the group racked up double-digit offensive boards coming off of a season-high 29 against Mars Hill. The team had 21 second-chance points against the Lady Eagles in the first meeting.
Diamond McDowell leads the team in scoring with 13 points per game ranking second in the league with 12 double-doubles. The reigning Freshman of the Year posted 16.1 points per game in February with 12 double-digit efforts in her last 13. She has a pair of 20-point games in the last six including a season-high 26 on Saturday.
Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and cneagles.com/live starting at 6:45 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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