JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (19-8, 13-6 SAC) will honor three superb seniors on Saturday afternoon when Mars Hill (13-16, 7-12 SAC) visits Holt Fieldhouse for the regular season finale at 2:00 p.m.
The Lady Eagles will honor Skylar Boshears (LaFollette, Tenn.), Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) and Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.). Since these three began playing together in 2020-21, the trio has a record together of 78-30. Senior Day festivities will take place between the hoops doubleheader.
"This core group has helped us win a lot of games," Carson-Newman head women's basketball coach Mike Mincey said. "We won the regular season in 2021, the next year we won the SAC tournament and went to the NCAA Tournament both those seasons. Last year we put a Mountain Division championship in the trophy case. Here we are this year at 19-8 with a chance to go undefeated at home. We've had a lot of success and have a lot of trophies because of it. Good kids that are very coachable and has helped us attract more players because of who they are."
Boshears has made 107 career appearances with Carson-Newman and has 73 starts. The guard has scored efficiently throughout her career, making 47% of her shots. In a win against Mars Hill on Dec. 14 last season, Boshears erupted for a career-high 31 points going 15-for-17 from the field shooting 88 percent. Boshears has 838 career points and was named an All-SAC Honorable Mention selection in 2020-21.
Getting back healthy this season, Taylor became Carson-Newman's 30th 1,000-point scorer and is 19th all-time in scoring. The senior holds the single season record for field goal percentage at 62 and is currently on pace to reset that same record this season. The post player is a two-time First-Team All-SAC selection and has a career average of 15 points per game on 62% shooting. The 2022 SAC Tournament MVP has 22 double-doubles in her C-N career.
Wykle is the program's all-time leading scorer with 2,634 points and counting and holds the three-point record with 343 threes. The fifth-year guard became the second two-time All-American in Carson-Newman's women's basketball's NCAA era. Wykle is a four-time First-Team All-SAC selection, holding career averages of 19.1 points per game on 46/41/87 splits. The guard continues to climb the DII scoring list. With 2,634 career points scored, Wykle is just three points away from moving into seventh place and 12 from moving into sixth. Her 343 three-pointers has her 14th all-time and eleven away from moving into the top ten. With 80 made triples this year, Wykle is four away from breaking Kailyn Brooks' record that was set during the 2016-17 season.
When Carson-Newman takes the floor on Saturday for Senior Day against Mars Hill, it will look to complete an unbeaten home regular season. The Lady Eagles have won all 14 home games, holding the 12th longest active home winning streak and second longest in the SAC. A win over the Lions would give C-N its third unbeaten home regular season under head coach Mike Mincey.
Carson-Newman can finish anywhere from third to sixth, currently in a three-way tie for third place. There are 13 different scenarios that could come into play on Saturday, but C-N's is relatively basic. A win and the Lady Eagles earn the number third seed in next week's SAC Tournament. A loss and C-N can finish anywhere from third to sixth.
The Lady Eagles are coming off their sixth SAC loss of the campaign, fourth straight that has been by exactly two points. One of those came in heart-breaking fashion to Mars Hill back in early February. The Lady Eagles squandered a 19-point second half and fell at the buzzer 67-65.
Mars Hill enters the final game of the regular season mathematically eliminated from the South Atlantic Conference tournament. The Lions are a game back of UVA Wise for the eighth spot but do not win the tiebreaker over the Cavaliers.
Since coming back from 19 down in the second half to beat Carson-Newman on Feb 7, the Lions have lost five of their last six games. Their only victory during this stretch was a seven-point road defeat of Emory & Henry on Feb 21. That was Mars Hill's first road win in the states this season. Emry Tsitouris' team won a pair of road contests in Puerto Rico back at the end of December.
The Lions grab the eighth-most rebounds in the country at nearly 44 per game. Their 31 defensive boards are third-most nationally. Mars Hill is 12th in the SAC in field goal efficiency at 39% and turns the ball over 22 times per game.
Senior guard Maddie Gillie leads the country in three-pointers made with 95. The three-point success has come with efficient 39% shooting.
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.
