VIDEO: Carson-Newman vs Tusculum Full Broadcast Replay
VIDEO: Carson-Newman vs Tusculum Highlights
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – No. 14/7 Carson-Newman (3-0, 1-0 SAC) continues its longest homestand of the season when it welcomes Tusculum (2-2, 0-0 SAC) to Holt Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m.
The Lady Eagles are 3-0 for the 19th time in 44 seasons as a program. It's the eighth time in 14 seasons under head coach Mike Mincey that C-N has started a new season 3-0.
Carson-Newman started its 2024-25 home regular season and conference slate with its second wire-to-wire win in three games, defeating Lenoir-Rhyne 92-72 on Saturday. The current 16-game home winning streak is the fourth longest active home winning streak in DII, and the best among teams in the Southeast region. The program is amid its second-longest home winning streak, the longest being a 27-game streak that Lenoir-Rhyne brought to a halt in 2018.
Carson-Newman's offense has been clicking on all cylinders to start the year. It's the first time in program history that Carson-Newman has scored 90 points or more in its first three games of a season. There have been multiple instances of scoring 80+ points in the first three games, but never 90 or more. It's the fourth time under Mincey that the Lady Eagles have scored 90 points or more in three straight games. Carson-Newman's 95.0 points per game ranks second-most nationally after the first couple of weeks.
The offense has been clicking thanks to C-N's efficiency and care with the ball. The Lady Eagles are shooting 47% from the field, the 27th most efficient mark in the country. They have displayed an elite level of passing as well, posting a 1.71 assist to turnover ratio, the second-best nationally and average 19 assists, the 10th most nationally.
Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) have paced Carson-Newman to start the season. Sullivan's 20.7 points per game are second-best in the SAC and 25th best nationally. Taylor is shooting 71.4 percent and is averaging 16.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. She has double-doubles in back-to-back games for the sixth time in her Lady Eagle career. She is one point away from passing Mika Wester on the program's all-time scoring list and 34 away from moving into the top ten.
Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) is also continuing to climb the all-time scoring list. Her 1,051 career points are 30th all-time. She is just 14 points from moving up three spots into 27th to pass Kori Linebarger's 1,064 points from 1995-99.
The Lady Eagles have dominated the series with Tusculum, winning 62 of the 83 meetings. Carson-Newman won both meetings this past season, the most recent of which was a 60-point pummeling of the Pioneers on Valentine's Day at Holt Fieldhouse. It was first win by 60+ since beating Mars Hill 106-44 back on Dec 18, 2019. The Lady Eagles set the tone early by scoring a season-high 36 first quarter points to lead by 23. Mincey's crew outscored Tusculum by at least nine points in every quarter and never the let Pioneers score more than 14 in a period. The 60-point victory is the largest margin of victory by either side, in a series that dates back to 1979.
Saturday's meeting will be just the second time in the past 20 seasons that these two squads match up in the first month of the season. It will be just the fifth time in thi 44-year series history that the teams play in November.
Picked to finish last in the South Atlantic Conference's preseason coaches' poll, Tusculum has started 2024-25 with two wins and two losses, one win shy of matching its win output from last season. The wins have come consecutively against North Greenville and USC Aiken after losing to Lees-McRae and #24 Columbus State to begin the season.
Ni'kiah Chesterfield is the reigning SAC player of the week after averaging 28.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in TU's two wins this past week. She is averaging 22.3 points per game and is shooting 69 percent.
Tusculum's two wins have been because of their offense, scoring 90+ in both wins. 85.3 points per game has come at an incredibly efficient rate, making 49 percent of their shots as a team. The Pioneers have also been terrific getting to the free throw line and then capitalizing when getting there. 18.7 made free throws on 29 attempts are both highs in the SAC and top 15 nationally.
Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 5:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
A live stream of the contest is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/flowbb.
