JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Getting set for its final road swing of the season, Carson-Newman (18-7, 12-5 SAC) travels to battle UVA Wise Wednesday evening at the Prior Convocation Center at 5:30 p.m.
Carson-Newman has clinched its spot in the South Atlantic Conference tournament but is vying to improve its seeding heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. The Lady Eagles are in a tie with Wingate for third place at 12-5. C-N wins the tiebreaker based on the head-to-head win against the Bulldogs last month. The Lady Eagles are one game back of second place Lenoir-Rhyne and are a game and a half back over first place Catawba.
With only the top eight spots available in the SAC tournament, UVA Wise clings to the final spot by a half game. The Cavaliers are just a half game ahead of Mars Hill and Newberry and are a game and a half behind seventh place Coker.
After losing its first two games of February, C-N has won three straight home games. The Lady Eagles hit the road for the 11th time this season, looking to improve its 3-7 mark away from Holt Fieldhouse. Both losses to start the month of February were on the road.
Carson-Newman is one of the best overall passing teams in the country, leading the SAC in both assists and assist to turnover ratio and are top ten nationally in both categories. The Lady Eagles have 20 or more assists in three straight games and have done it 12 times this season. C-N is 11-1 when recording at least 20 assists as a team.
With 136 career games played, Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) is just one appearance 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. Wykle is also climbing two charts as she endures her final three regular season contests. She is just two points away from moving into ninth place on the all-time DII women's basketball scoring list, with 2,569 career points.
Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) and Wykle are both closing in on single season marks. Wykle has made 70 three-pointers this season and is only 13 three-pointers away from tying Kailyn Brooks for most three-pointers made in a single season in program history. The fifth-year guard has 12 games with at least four three-pointers this season, the most such games in any of her five seasons in Mossy Creek. Taylor is shooting 63.3% from the field and is on pace to reset her own school record for highest field goal percentage in a single season. She shot a program record 62% in 2021-22. Taylor's 63.3% mark this season is third nationally and only .2 percent away from the best mark in DII. The senior forward has made 50% of her shots in 19 of C-N's 25 games this season.
The Lady Eagles have won all 11 meetings against the UVA Wise Cavaliers and have won ten of the 11 matchups by double digits. C-N won the first meeting back on Jan. 16 at Holt Fieldhouse 91-66. The 25-point victory over the Cavaliers was the same game where head coach Mike Mincey became the program's winningest coach and when Taylor reached 1,000 points in her C-N career.
The Cavaliers are coming off a pair of single digit losses to Lincoln Memorial and Newberry last week. The loss to Newberry on Saturday came in overtime by three points. The Cavs have won nine of their 12 home games this season and prior to the LMU loss one week ago, had won nine straight games at home.
They have wins over both #8 Catawba and Anderson at the Convocation center this season. Caitlyn Ross leads the second-best passing team in the league with 6.3 assists per game, second-most in the SAC and fourth-most nationally. She leads four double-figure scorers as well with 15 points per game but shoots below 38% from the field and from three-point range.
Tipoff from the Prior Convocation Center is set for 5:30 p.m. Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and online at cneagles.com/live starting at 5:15 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
