Critical road test pits C-N and Catawba in Salisbury
February 3, 2017

Critical road test pits C-N and Catawba in Salisbury

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman can move two games above fifth-place Catawba Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when the Lady Eagles visit the Indians for a South Atlantic Conference competition that could weigh heavily on seeding in the 2017 SAC Women’s Basketball Championships.

VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

C-N Women's Basketball Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman can move two games above fifth-place Catawba Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. when the Lady Eagles visit the Indians for a South Atlantic Conference competition that could weigh heavily on seeding in the 2017 SAC Women's Basketball Championships.

The top four teams in the league earn a home game in the postseason conference tournament while seed five through eight have to travel before the final four convene at Furman to decide the conference's automatic bid.

"We don't hide anything from [the team]," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "They are so invested in what's going on. They know who is winning in the league. They know where they're ranked. They know where Catawba's ranked. They know what's ahead of us. There are no secrets. We know what's at stake. We do know that there are still a lot of games left to play."

Mincey is sitting on 99 victories as the coach of the Lady Eagles. C-N has had four coaches in its 39 years as a program and each one has won at least 100 contests.

Carson-Newman (14-7, 11-4) snapped a four-game losing streak to Catawba (13-7, 10-5) in the first meeting this year holding on for an 83-79 victory at Holt Fieldhouse on Dec. 14, 2016. Catawba leads the all-time series 39-26 as the squads prepare for the 66th time.

Sophomore Mika Wester (Newport, Tenn.) led the Lady Eagles with her fifth 20-point effort of the season while compiling her third double-double of the year with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a career-high three blocks. Sophomore Haris Price (Gatlinburg, Tenn.) posted 17 points and four assists while senior Kailyn Brooks (Lafayette, Tenn.) finished the night with 14 points and five rebounds.

Bri Johnson scored 41 points on 12-for-17 shooting from the floor and 16-for-19 from the free-throw. She was the first player to score at least 40 points against C-N in the 1,239 games the program had played while posting the fifth-highest scoring effort by any player in league history.

The Lady Eagles are looking for their first season sweep of the Indians in 11 years when during the 2005-06 campaign C-N won 63-62 on the road and 64-57 at home.

Catawba has lost back-to-back games entering this weekend and has dropped four of its last seven overall with all four setbacks coming on the road.

The Indians are 9-1 at home this season having won six straight outings at the Goodman Gym. The last time Catawba lost inside of the friendly confines came on Nov. 26, 2016 when Virginia Union won 78-69.

In conference, the Indians have earned wins in 11 consecutive home outings with the last setback coming on Jan. 16, 2016 when Lincoln Memorial won 64-60.

With the ball, coach Angie Morton's group is 24th in the nation in three-point percentage at 36.5 percent while ranking third in the league in points per game at 72.5 despite registering 17 turnovers on average, seventh in the SAC.

Catawba is sixth in the conference in field-goal percentage defense at 39.9 while ranking 234th in three-point defense yielding a 33.4 percent clip.

Johnson and forward Terri Rogers are ranked second and third in the league in scoring as Johnson is fourth in the nation in three-point percentage at 46.2. Rogers leads the league and is 22nd in the country in field-goal percentage making shots at a 54.5 percent clip.

The game will be broadcast on the flagship station of the Eagle Sports Network, Mountain Country 106.3 WPFT-FM, and cneagles.com/live starting at 1:45 p.m. with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off".

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