JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the second straight season, six-seeded Carson-Newman (22-8) will matchup up with Anderson (24-9) in the NCAA Tournament, as the two teams get to set to meet in the quarterfinals Friday afternoon at 12:00 p.m.
"What would be the postseason without Carson-Newman and Anderson?" Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "I'm sure Anderson is thinking the same way we are, we know them well because we've played them so much. I know from our standpoint we felt like we obviously did not play very well in that semifinal game and Anderson played extremely well. It gives us a rematch against them to hopefully do better this time."
Friday afternoon's matchup will be the second straight season that Carson-Newman and Anderson will play four times. C-N won three of the four meetings in 2024, two of which came in the postseason including a NCAA Tournament regional semifinal victory 74-54 over the Trojans. This season, AU has won two of the three meetings, most recently by 24 in the SAC Tournament semifinals. Overall, the Lady Eagles are 4-3 over the last two seasons against the Trojans.
This is the seventh time in the past eight seasons that Carson-Newman has qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Of the program's now 14 bids to the NCAA Tournament, eight of them have been accomplished in head coach Mike Mincey's 14-year tenure.
In 21 total postseason games since going Division II, Carson-Newman is 9-12 and has won its first-round contest five times. The Lady Eagles are coming off a 2024 postseason in which they won a pair of regional games and made it to the regional title game for just the third time in school history.
A plethora of Lady Eagles have NCAA Tournament experience led by graduate student forward Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.), who is set to compete in her fourth NCAA Tournament. She leads the way with six career NCAA Tournament games, while senior guards Makayla Alvey (Dandridge, Tenn.) and Campbell Penland (Sevierville, Tenn.) each have played in five games and are set to play in their third NCAA Tournament.
Penland and Taylor will look to continue to climb the record books this postseason. Penland is 16 points away from passing Haris Price for 10th all-time in scoring in program history. Meanwhile, Taylor sits 51 points away from third all-time in scoring. Her 887 career rebounds are sixth all-time in school history.
Anderson won its third South Atlantic Conference championship by defeating Coker 64-58 last Friday. Diamond McDowell was named the SAC Tournament MVP, going for a 20-point double-double in all three games of the conference tournament. Jonathon Barbaree takes his team into the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in his nine-year tenure and the 16th overall for the program.
The Trojans have won 12 consecutive games, the sixth longest active winning streak in the country. AU has not lost since dropping back-to-back games in late January to C-N and the top-seed Coker. During this ten-game winning streak, Anderson has six wins by double-digits. They have lost just three games since the beginning of December and all three losses are by four points or less.
Over the course of the regular season, Anderson proved to be one of the elite rebounding teams in the country. It grabs 45 boards per contest, including more than 15 offensive rebounds. Both of those marks rank in the top 20 nationally. Going up against the top three-point shooting team in the country will be a good challenge for an Anderson defense that is number one in the league at defending the three-point shot. Opponents shoot just 25 percent from deep.
Coverage on Friday with the Eagle Sports Network begins at 11:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
