JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (19-6, 15-5 SAC) will aim to continue its winning ways when it battles Emory & Henry (7-20, 2-19 SAC) in a South Atlantic Conference contest Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. inside Holt Fieldhouse.
Head coach Mike Mincey will get his first crack at win 200 in South Atlantic Conference games. During his 14-year tenure in Mossy Creek, Mincey has a 199-87 record in league games. No coach in SAC history has more conference wins than Mincey and he is the second winningest coach in the conference's history with 283 career wins, the most among active coaches in the league as well.
When Carson-Newman wins, it wins big this season. 12 of its 19 wins are by 20 points or more this season with 17 of the 19 wins by 12 points or more. C-N's average scoring margin is at 15.6, the best in the SAC and 15th nationally. In Mike Mincey's tenure, C-N has 113 wins by 20 points or more with the most in a season being 19 during the magical 2017-18 season. 7 of Carson-Newman's last 9 wins have been by 20 points or more.
Two Lady Eagles continue to make their way up the program's all-time charts. Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.) has 1,614 career points and is 124 points from passing Leah Jackson's 1,737 third place scoring mark. Leading C-N in rebounding in Saturday's win at Wingate, she now has 844 career rebounds, which is sixth in program history.
Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) continues to move her way up the program's scoring and three-point shooting ranks. Her 1,319 career points is 13th all-time. She needs just 7 more points to move into 12th and just 58 points to move into the top ten on the program's all-time scoring list. Penland has 222 career three-pointers and with her next three-pointer will move into third all-time in three-point shooting.
In a series that started just three seasons ago, C-N has won all six meetings and five of them by double-figures. The lone single-digit affair was an eight-point Lady Eagles win on Feb 22, 2023. Carson-Newman won the first meeting two days before Thanksgiving, 76-57. Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored 23 points and made five triples to lift C-N to the road win.
Emory & Henry heads to Mossy Creek already having been eliminated from postseason play. The Wasps are just 2-19 in conference play and 7-20 overall this season.
E&H's first win in conference play came on Jan 25, a 40-point rout of Newberry at home. And then just last Wednesday, the Wasps grinded out a one-point overtime win with Lincoln Memorial at home. Of the 19 losses, six have come by single digits with multiple two-point losses on the schedule this season.
The Wasps are hoping Wednesday is when they will get their first road win of the season. Jaclyn Dickens' team is 0-11 this season in road games and has lost 15 of their past 16 dating back to last season.
Breanna Yarber is the best player at 18.4 points per game on 52 percent shooting. She has scored double-digits in 20 of the 23 games she has played this season and has ten 20-point games including back-to-back games with 22 points. She did not play in the first meeting between these two clubs.
Tipoff between the Lady Eagles and Wasps 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.
