JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (2-0) hits the road for the first time this season as it travels to down to Americus, Georgia for the Georgia Southwestern Classic and will face off with Georgia Southwestern tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. and Columbus State on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
The Lady Eagles start the year 2-0 for the second straight year and for the sixth time in the last seven campaigns. When the weekend is all set and done, C-N will have the chance to start 4-0 for also the sixth time in the last seven seasons.
Carson-Newman is aiming to get right when heading on the road. The Lady Eagles have lost four straight games on the road dating back to last season and were just 5-8 overall away from Holt Fieldhouse in 2022-23.
Mike Mincey's squad is off to a great defensive start to begin the season. C-N's defense forced 44 turnovers and recorded 31 steals in the opening week wins over Lander and USC Aiken. The Lady Eagles allowed 51 points to Lander and 47 to USC Aiken, it's just the fifth time under Mincey that C-N has allowed 51 points or less in back-to-back games.
Scoring in double-figures in both wins, Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) reached the 1,000-point plateau for her career. She is exactly 200 points away from 1,000 points in her Eagles career. The redshirt senior recorded her 16th career double-double in the season-opening win versus Lander.
C-N has recorded more points in the paint, points off turnovers and second chance points in both of its wins.
Friday night's meeting with Georgia Southwestern will be the first all-time meeting between these two schools. The matchup will also serve as the season opener for GSW. The Lady Hurricanes are coming off a 26-7 campaign and have to replace their top three scorers, including all-region selection and PBC Tournament MVP Ava Jones (15.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2.1 spg).
Returning is two-time preseason All-PBC selection senior Kayla Langley. Langley led GSW last season with 6.4 rebounds per game and ranked fourth on the squad with 11.2 points per game. She scored 20 or more points twice and posted four double-doubles. Senior Destiny Garrett started 19 games last season and averaged 3.7 assists in the NCAA Tournament. Junior Kayla Grant appeared in 30 games last year while averaging 14.8 minutes on the floor.
First-year head coach Hana Haden quickly reloaded her roster with a 10-player class for the upcoming season that includes, four all-Americans, six junior college all-region selections and seven players with national college tournament experience. Haden replaced 2022-23 PBC Coach of the Year Justin Payne who took over the women's program at his alma mater, NCAA Division I Nicholls State University.
Georgia Southwestern has been picked to finish sixth in the conference, despite making a Sweet 16 appearance just one season ago and winning the conference championship. It has lost just five games at home the past two seasons and lost just one time last year in the Storm Dome.
Columbus State and Carson-Newman will meet for the 14th time on Saturday afternoon. Over the last ten meetings, neither team has won back to back matchups, with CSU's three-game winning streak to begin the series in 1998 being the only streak from either side. C-N is 0-3 in neutral site matchups with Columbus State.
The Cougars started 2023-24 with a pair of victories over Miles College and Albany State. Letiya Reeves is the team's leading scorer averaging 21 points per game and nine rebounds in two games. Jasmine Rai Stevens, Lacy Robins and Amber Abusbeih are all also scoring in double-figures on average through the first two games.
Their defense has forced 52 turnovers through the first two games and has 27 steals and 22 blocks. CSU has outscored its two opponents by 16 points in the second quarter.
Columbus State was picked to finish second in the PBC, the highest ranking of Peach Belt schools that C-N is scheduled to face off with in the regular season.
Both affairs will air on cneagles.com/live and on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM, starting 15 minutes before tip with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off". Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m. tomorrow evening from Americus, Georgia.
A live stream is available at pbcsportsnetwork.com/gswcanes.
