VIDEO: Carson-Newman vs Anderson SAC Quarterfinals
VIDEO: Carson-Newman vs Lenoir-Rhyne SAC Semifinals
ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the second time in the last three seasons, three-seeded Carson-Newman (22-8) will compete for a South Atlantic Conference Championship when it battles four-seeded Wingate (21-9) Friday at 4:00 p.m. inside the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center.
"We are happy to be staying another night and playing again tomorrow," Carson-Newman women's basketball head coach Mike Mincey said. "Coach Hancock has done a phenomenal job this year I think we all know that. Losing Bryanna Troutman and not having Sullivan for a good part of the year. For them to find themselves playing great basketball late and to beat Catawba in this environment. I think Wingate has been the premier basketball program over 20, 30 years in the SAC. We are certainly back to where we want to be. These are two of the best programs in the conference. It's going to be a great matchup against two great teams."
C-N returns to the title game for the eighth time in program history, eyeing its fourth championship. Mincey's crew defeated Anderson by seven in the quarterfinals and used a late surge to beat Lenoir-Rhyne in the semifinals by 3. The program has made appearances in the SAC title in the years 1995, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2018 and 2022. The two most recent appearances were both under Mincey, both of which were Carson-Newman wins.
Carson-Newman and Wingate meet in the SAC tournament for the first time since the 2018 championship when C-N defeated the Bulldogs 79-70. It'll be the third time the two programs meet in the championship game with C-N winning both contests. Overall, the two sides have meet ten times in the SAC tournament and the series is dead even at 5-5.
The Lady Eagles met up with the Bulldogs twice in the regular season winning both matchups. C-N led by as many as 42 in the first meeting and won 93-64 at home on Nov 21st. The Lady Eagles completed the regular season sweep of the Bulldogs securing an eleven-point road win on Jan 20th.
The Lady Eagles have won three of the last four meetings in the series. Oddly enough, the two clubs last three postseason meetings have come six years apart (2012, 2018 and now 2024). WU has won three of the last four tournament battles.
Tomorrow's title game will be just the second time that the three and four seeds meet for the championship. The first occasion was in 2007 when three-seeded Newberry beat four-seeded Carson-Newman.
The number four seed in the SAC tournament defeated Lincoln Memorial by three in the quarterfinal round and Catawba by 13 in the semifinals to earn a trip back to the SAC title game, its first since 2019. The Bulldogs have left empty-handed in their last two championship appearances. Wingate has the most championships all-time in SAC history.
Ann Hancock's team has won seven of their last eight games, with their only loss coming at Lenoir-Rhyne in a game in which they blew a double-digit lead. Counting two wins this week, WU is 4-0 at a neutral site this season. Emily Hege and Hannah Clark are the two All-SAC selections who both average more than 17 points per game on efficient splits. The best free throwing shooting team in the league has got to the stripe often in the tournament, taking 56 in two games and making 43 of them.
Tipoff between the Lady Eagles and Bulldogs is slated for 4:00 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mountain Talk 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
