JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In a battle featuring the most efficient offense against the best field percentage defense in the South Atlantic Conference, Carson-Newman (17-7, 11-5 SAC) welcomes Anderson (18-5, 10-5 SAC) to Holt Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
Carson-Newman possesses the best field goal percentage defense in the SAC, forcing opponents to shoot just 36.1 percent from the field. Only four opponents have shot better than 40% on C-N this season. On the flip side, Anderson is the most efficient team in the SAC at 44.3%. AU has shot better than 40% 17 times this season and has exceeded 50% on four occasions.
Carson-Newman is in a tie for third place with Wingate at 11-5 in the league standings with both Anderson and Lincoln Memorial at 10-5, lurking behind at a half game back and in fifth place.
The Lady Eagles match up with the Trojans for the second time this season. AU defeated C-N back on Dec. 16, 82-69. Mincey's team led by six points at halftime and scored 47 points in the opening half. Anderson changed the game in the third quarter, outscoring Carson-Newman 25-9 to eventually create a double-digit game. After winning six straight against the Trojans, C-N has dropped the last two meetings in the series. At Holt, C-N is 12-6 in the series with three of those contests going to overtime.
The Lady Eagles continue to play exceptional basketball at home this season, now securing the second-longest home winning streak in program history. C-N is 13-0 at home and has won nine of those games by double digits. The 13-game winning streak is tied for the 14th longest active home winning streak in the country. Carson-Newman has finished unbeaten at home in the regular season twice under Mincey.
C-N is coming off its first 100-point scoring effort of the season and its first 60-point victory since 2019. The Lady Eagles demolished Tusculum by starting the game on a 15-0 run and ending the game on a 15-0 run. C-N's bench outscored TU 44-43.
C-N finished Wednesday's game with a season-high 31 assists, with no player recording more than four in the game. The Lady Eagles lead the SAC with 18.5 assists per game, fifth most nationally as well. C-N is also first in the SAC in assist to turnover ratio, field goal percentage defense, blocks per game, rebounds per game, and scoring margin.
With 135 career games played, Braelyn Wykle is just two appearances away from playing in the most games in program history. Missy Brown holds the record for games played with 136 through the 1978-82 seasons. With 8 points against Mars Hill, Wykle moved into the top ten all-time in scoring among DII players all-time. She is just 19 points away from moving into ninth place on the all-time scoring list.
Anderson heads to Mossy Creek having lost two of its last three games. Both losses are to the top two teams in the SAC #11 Catawba and Lenoir-Rhyne. The Catawba loss was a 1-point home overtime loss. The Trojans got back in the win column with a 77-68 victory over Limestone on Wednesday. Since defeating Carson-Newman back on Dec 16, AU has gone 10-3.
The Trojans have one of the most dominant frontcourts in DII women's basketball with Nelliah Wilson and Diamond McDowell. The duo combines for more than 21 rebounds per game, and both rank in the top 15 nationally in rebounds this season. Both players average a double-double per game, McDowell having 13 and Wilson having eight this season.
Zamiya Passmore has been an all-around threat for the Trojans. She scores 15 points per game on 48/26/74 splits. She leads the SAC with 6.5 assists per game, third most in DII as well. Passmore ranks fifth among active DII players in career scoring average at 17.6.
Anderson possesses the best scoring offense in the SAC, scoring 79 per game. The scoring is in part to how efficient the Trojans are, ranking first in the league shooting 44% from the field and the third-highest mark from three-point range at 33%. A weakness for AU has been its defense. It gives up the 10th most points per game in the SAC and allows opponents to shoot 41% from the field on average.
"They have a really good group," Mincey said. "They are hard to defend that's why they are leading our conference in scoring and in field goal percentage. That's ultimately what the game will come down to, can we stop them."
AU's starters log heavy minutes for coach Jonathan Barbaree. The five starters all rank in the top 15 among players in the SAC minutes per game.
Tipoff from Holt Fieldhouse is set for 2:00 p.m. Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and online at cneagles.com/live starting at 1:45 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/FloWbb
