VIDEO: Limestone Highlights Dec. 2023
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the final time this regular season, Carson-Newman (19-7, 13-5 SAC) hits the road matching up against the Limestone Saints (9-16, 3-14 SAC) Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm inside the Timken Center.
The Lady Eagles get their first chance at win number 20 on Saturday. A win over the Saints would be the sixth time in the last seven years and the 23rd time overall the program has achieved the 20-win mark in a season.
"Now we go to Limestone another tough place to play for our last road game of the year," Carson-Newman women's basketball head coach Mike Mincey said. "A place where we haven't had a lot of success. Even though we haven't talked about conference standings and things of that nature, they are smart enough kids to know what's going on. We'll have two good days of preparation before we head over to Limestone."
Carson-Newman has made four trips to Gaffney, S.C. and has left empty handed each time. Three of the four losses have been by double digits, including its most recent trip a 102-73 loss on Dec. 7th last season. The Saints became the first team to reach triple digits on C-N in regulation since Kennesaw State did it in 1996. Leading by just a point at halftime in the first meeting this season, the Lady Eagles turned up the heat after halftime outscoring the Saints 51-28 in route to a 96-72 home win. To be exact, it was a 40-12 scoring run in the final 14 minutes of the game.
After shooting just 27% from long range in January, the Lady Eagles have been red-hot from deep here in February. C-N has made 64 three-pointers, its most in any month this season and is shooting nearly 40%.
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 19 or more assists in three straight games and have done it 13 times this season. C-N is 12-1 when recording at least 19 assists as a team.
When the Lady Eagles have compounded efficient offense with quality defense, it has usually turned out in C-N wins. It is 18-1 when outshooting the opponent this season. That's mainly been the case under Mincey, whose teams are 219-26 when shooting a higher percentage from the field.
Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) continues to add almost every record imaginably. She has the most points, three-pointers and games played in program history and is now vying for the single-season record for three-pointers made. After tying the program record for threes made in a game for the sixth time on Wednesday, Wykle is just seven triples away from Kailyn Brooks' 83 threes during the 2016-17 season.
The fifth-year guard continues to climb the NCAA DII women's basketball all-time scoring list. Wykle has 2,606 career points and is seven away from moving into eighth all-time.
On January 27, Limestone was 9-9 overall and 3-7 in the league. Since, it has dropped seven straight league games has played itself out of postseason contention with the second-worst record in the SAC at 3-14. Four of the seven losses have been by single digits and five have been to teams in the top five in the SAC standings.
The Saints will host their Senior Day on Saturday when Carson-Newman visits the Timken Center. Corey Fox's team is 6-8 at home this season.
Limestone is led by Kalisha Hill who is averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds per game. The junior forward has scored in double-figures in all but one game. She is fourth nationally with 15 double-doubles. Reagan Kargo averages 13 points per game and has a team-high 39 three-pointers. No other player has made more than 16 threes.
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.
