Lady Eagles host Newberry Saturday
January 11, 2013

Lady Eagles host Newberry Saturday

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles basketball team (7-3, 1-2 South Atlantic Conference) will host the Newberry Wolves (10-3, 2-1 South Atlantic Conference) at Holt Fieldhouse on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Lady Eagles are coming off a 55-51 loss to rival Tusculum on Wednesday, while Newberry saw a six-game winning streak come to an end with a 57-51 loss at Anderson on Wednesday.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles basketball team (7-3, 1-2 South Atlantic Conference) will host the Newberry Wolves (10-3, 2-1 South Atlantic Conference) at Holt Fieldhouse on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Lady Eagles are coming off a 55-51 loss to rival Tusculum on Wednesday, while Newberry saw a six-game winning streak come to an end with a 57-51 loss at Anderson on Wednesday.

"Newberry is a really good team," said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. "They're one of the top teams in our league. They have some good wins this year, so we know we've got our work cut out for us. It's always a hard battle when we face Newbery."

The Lady Eagles led Tusculum by 12 points at the half, yet posted a season-low 18 points in the second half while losing the game by four. It was the first time this season that Carson-Newman had lost after leading at halftime, and the first time the Lady Eagles lost after leading with 10 minutes left to play.

"We don't really start second halves really well for whatever reason," said Mincey. "For whatever reason, whether we have the lead or not, we just don't come out with that fire and that energy.

Junior Shyra Clark (Cleveland, Tenn,) led the Lady Eagles in scoring against Tusculum with a season-high 17 points. She averages 11 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while freshman Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) continues to lead the Lady Eagles with her 13 points per game.

Last season the Lady Eagles and Wolves split their two meetings. The Wolves won 57-55 in the first meeting at Newberry, while the Lady Eagles beat Newberry 62-51 at Holt Fieldhouse on Feb. 18, 2012.

The Wolves were picked to finish third in the preseason SAC poll,  while Newberry was the only multiple players (Haylee Lepaio and Neicey Lewis) earning First Team All-SAC honors.

Lepaio leads Newberry and the SAC in scoring by averaging 20.1 points per game. She also ranks 14th in the nation in scoring average. She averages a double-double per contest as she averages 10 rebounds per game, tied for most in the conference. Forward Samantha Creed also averages in double-digits, scoring 15.2 points per game. 

Coverage of the game is available on the Coca-Cola Eagle Sports Network, beginning with the Farm Bureau Countdown to Tipoff at 1:45 p.m. and the broadcast is also available on www.cneagles.com.

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