JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Riding a three-game winning streak, Carson-Newman (13-5, 7-3) returns home for a South Atlantic Conference clash with the Coker Cobras (11-6, 5-5), Saturday at 2:00 p.m. inside Holt Fieldhouse.
"We've played much better and shot it better at home this season," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "Happy to get out of E&H with a victory because we didn't play our best except for the third quarter. I think we'll get off to a much better start in Holt Fieldhouse Saturday."
The Lady Eagles are out for revenge on Saturday afternoon. The Cobras stunned Carson-Newman last season in the regular season finale, securing a 80-79 victory at Holt Fieldhouse. That's C-N's last regular season loss at home. Prior to last season's defeat, the Lady Eagles had won 13 straight against Coker and all but two were by double-digits. C-N leads the all-time tally 16-3.
Carson-Newman returns home on a three-game winning streak, following back-to-back road victories. The Lady Eagles have been insanely good in Holt Fieldhouse this season. Mincey's crew is 9-0 and is outscoring teams by 23 points on their home floor. The 9-0 start at home ties 2017-18's elite eight team that won all 17 of their home games that season. The offense is scoring 11 more points (82) at home and is shooting eight percent better as well at 45%.
11 of the 13 wins this season have been by double-digits. The only two games C-N won by single digits were the two games they failed to reach 60 points (Lander and Saginaw Valley). All seven conference wins this season are by double-digits. It's the most wins by double digits to start league play since Mincey's team won their first six games of the 2015-16 season by double-figures.
The Lady Eagles have been getting things done on the defensive end. Last time out, C-N forced 36 turnovers and came away with 29 steals, breaking the program record for steals in a game. Mincey's unit has forced opponents to shoot below 38% in nine straight games. Only two opponents have managed to shoot 40% or better on C-N this season. To no surprise, Carson-Newman is first in the league in field goal percentage defense at 35.5%, a mark that is 29th in the country.
Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) continues to put together one of the more impressive seasons in the league. The forward has seven straight games with double-digit scoring and has scored 20 or more in five of those games. Her 63.5% field goal percentage is the second-best mark nationally.
Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) continues to climb the three-point charts. She is two three-pointers away from moving into seventh place all-time. She currently has 130 made three-pointers in 80 career games.
After dropping its season opener, Coker rattled off seven straight wins which carried into the start of league play. After the 2-0 league start, the Cobras lost four of their next five contests, all of which were SAC games at home. It heads to Mossy Creek having seen a three-game winning streak end at the hands of Limestone on Wednesday. Coker led 54-47 but got outscored 9-0 in the final three and a half minutes.
That loss to the Saints was Coker's first loss away from home this season. Coker had won its four games on the road to begin the year. Fourth-year head coach Mellisa DeVore has matched her team's win total from last season at 11 and is one away from the most wins in a season since 2013-14.
The Cobras excel in three areas. Getting to the free throw line (22.1), offensive rebounding (15.6) and forcing turnovers (24.8). They lead the league in all three categories and are in the top 20 nationally in all three as well.
Mya Wasswa and Dasia Lambert each average 13 points per game, both shooting above 40% from the field. Freshman forward Kamari Thompson joins them in double-figures with 11 points per game on a team-best 53% clip.
Tipoff from Holt Fieldhouse is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and cneagles.com/live starting at 1:45 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network.
