Looking to rebound, Mincey's crew hosts Lenoir-Rhyne
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Looking to avoid back-to-back home losses for the first time in four seasons, 19th-ranked Carson-Newman continues a three-game homestand on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. against South Atlantic Conference foe Lenoir-Rhyne.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
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17 | 10 | 23 | 15 | 65 |
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21 | 16 | 24 | 19 | 80 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Looking to avoid back-to-back home losses for the first time in four seasons, Carson-Newman continues a three-game homestand on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. against South Atlantic Conference foe Lenoir-Rhyne.
"They played Lander well," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "They have some nice pieces and are playing well. It is about how we respond. You never like to lose but I have been in long enough now to know this won't bury us and this won't bury me. We have one loss in conference play and will look to bounce back moving forward because it's a long basketball season ahead of us."
After starting the 2020-21 season with eight straight home wins, the Lady Eagles had reeled off a dozen victories in a row at Holt Fieldhouse but have since lost three of the last four. The Orange and Blue have not dropped back-to-back regular-season games since Nov. 30 and Dec. 7, 2019 with losses to Wingate and at No. 16 Anderson. To find the last time the program lost a pair of regular-season home outings in a row was Feb. 17-20, 2016 losing to Tusculum and Wingate.
Wednesday is the 79th meeting between Carson-Newman (4-2, 2-1) and Lenoir-Rhyne (2-3, 1-2) with the Lady Eagles holding a 49-29 lead with wins in five straight and nine of the last 10. The only setback came on Dec. 5, 2018 when the Bears left Mossy Creek with a 78-75 triumph behind 63 percent second-half shooting to end a program-record 27-game home winning streak.
A year ago, the teams squared off one time with the Lady Eagles coming away with a 91-73 win at Holt Fieldhouse behind Skylar Boshears (LaFollette, Tenn.) and Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) combining for 53 points making 66 percent of their shots. C-N shot 59 percent for the game making half of its 16 three-point attempts. The Lady Eagles had 44 points in the paint and 24 points off of 14 Lenoir-Rhyne turnovers.
Coach Grahm Smith's team has lost three of the last four games but those setbacks have come to third-ranked Lander, a three-point overtime loss to Wingate and a two-point defeat to Limestone. The unit has shot at least 44 percent in each of the last three but is making the third-fewest triples in the league with four per game shooting 27 percent.
Despite attempting a total of 92 foul shots on the year, the Bears are the best free-throw shooting team in the league making 79 percent at the stripe with three players in the top 12 in the league in efficiency led by Emily Harman's 94 percent on 16 of 17 shooting.
Harman is the reigning SAC Freshman of the Year and is the team's leading scorer this year with 15 points per game ranking fifth in the conference. Last year, the sophomore guard racked up 15 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals. She has a pair of double-doubles on the year and four for her career.
Rookie Maddie Dillinger is second on the team in scoring and is the only player on the roster to score in double figures in every game this year posting nearly 18 points per game in her last three. The forward is 15th in the country with 13 total shot blocks with one in every game and four of at least two tallying a season-high four against Wingate and Limestone.
Turnover have begun to become an issue with the team averaging 17 per game after starting with nine against USC Aiken, the team has at least 16 in each of the last four outings. Lenoir-Rhyne has been outrebounded twice but has not posted more than five boards more than its foe in any of the other three.
Tune into the broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network starting at 5:15 p.m. for "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off" on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) with audio and video streams available on cneagles.com/live free of charge.
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Team Stats
Lenoir-Rhyne
| Game Statistics | Lenoir-Rhyne | RV Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (25-59) | (29-56) |
| Field Goal % | 42.4% | 51.8% |
| Rebounds | 30 | 36 |
| Assists | 20 | 18 |
| Turnovers | 25 | 17 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 22 | 26 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 9 | 9 |
| Pts in the Paint | 26 | 42 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 12 | 13 |
| Bench Pts | 9 | 28 |
