JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The reigning South Atlantic Conference regular season champions come to visit Holt Fieldhouse as No. 9/7 Carson-Newman (4-0, 2-0 SAC) concludes its three-game homestand versus Catawba (3-1, 1-0 SAC) on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
Carson-Newman has started its 2024-25 home regular season slate with back-to-back wins in games where it did not trail and won by 20 points. The current 17-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.
The Lady Eagles are 4-0 for the 16th time in 44 seasons as a program and for the first time since 2020-21. This is the seventh time in head coach Mike Mincey's 14 seasons that his team has started the year 4-0.
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 four games of a season. There have been multiple instances of scoring 80+ points in the first few games of a season, but never 90 or more. It's just the third time under Mincey that the Lady Eagles have scored 90 points or more in four straight games. C-N scored 90+ in five straight games, two different times during its 32-win 2017-18 season. Carson-Newman's 94.0 points per game number one nationally.
In both wins at home during this homestand, the Lady Eagles have drilled double-digit three-pointers in both, totaling 25 made triples the past two games. It's just the second occurrence of nailing double-digit three-pointers in back to back games since 2019-20.
The offense has been clicking thanks to C-N's efficiency and care with the ball. The Lady Eagles are shooting 46% from the field, the 35th most efficient mark in the country. They have displayed an elite level of passing as well, posting a 1.63 assist to turnover ratio and average 21 assists, the second most nationally in both categories.
Catawba has won the past three meetings in this series, all by single digits and started this winning streak with a win in Nov of 2022, 63-58. The past two meetings came in Salisbury, N.C., where the Indians defended their home court. Last year's meeting came down to the wire, with Catawba holding on for a 76-74 win. C-N has dropped its last three affairs with the Indians inside of Holt Fieldhouse. Prior to this recent stretch where Catawba has won five of the past seven meetings, C-N had won nine straight, in a series where the Indians have the six-game edge, 42-36 all-time.
One of the final four teams remaining in the Southeast region this past season, Catawba has begun the 2024-25 season 3-1, having won three straight contests after a season-opening loss. The reigning SAC regular season champions have one defeat this season, that came at the hands of #24 Columbus State, but the Indians are coming off their first conference win of the season, a one-point win at Anderson on Wednesday.
Catawba is having to replace its top three scorers including the reigning SAC player of the year Lyrik Thorne. Janiya Foskey and Bailee Goodlett are the top scorers through four games, each averaging ten points per game. Seven other players are averaging five points or more for an offense that averages 72 points per game.
Terrence McCutcheon's team stands out statistically in several areas. The Indians are only shooting 37% from the field. However, they are the best offensive rebounding team in the SAC through four games, grabbing 19 per game. Defensive pressure for Catawba has been key once again, forcing 25 turnovers and recording 13 steals per game, both top marks in the league early in the season.
Tipoff is at 2:00 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 1:45 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.
