Road-tested Lady Eagles visit UVA Wise
December 7, 2021

Road-tested Lady Eagles visit UVA Wise

WISE, Va. – Performing at a more efficient rate in road affairs this year, Carson-Newman gets on the bus to make the journey to Virginia Wise’s Prior Center Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. in a South Atlantic Conference tussle.

VIDEO: Cinematic Highlights vs. Anderson

VIDEO: Mike Mincey Interview

Game Notes (PDF)

WISE, Va. – Performing at a more efficient rate in road affairs this year, Carson-Newman gets on the bus to make the journey to Virginia Wise's Prior Center Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. in a South Atlantic Conference tussle.

Through eight games, Carson-Newman (6-2, 4-1) has been a better team away from Holt Fieldhouse scoring nearly 85 points per game, shooting 46 percent from the field, making seven three-pointers per game and turning the ball over 13 times per contest. All of those marks are better than the numbers posted in four home games.

"Sometimes winning home games at Holt Fieldhouse are tough," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "The last two games we have had two individual players shoot better than what their stats say that they've shot over the course of the season. People are going to come to Holt Fieldhouse and shoot well. Sometimes when we go to their facility they don't shoot as well as when they come here. I am proud of our team for being focused and having a mindset to get the job done on the road."

After starting the season 4-for-13 at the free-throw line, the Lady Eagles are shooting 72 percent at the charity stripe hitting at least 70 percent in six of the last seven games since going 8-for-17 in the season opener against third-ranked Lander.

Carson-Newman battled back to beat Anderson 70-68 on Saturday after trailing by a dozen at halftime thanks to a 28-12 third. Mincey's team is coming off of its biggest halftime deficit overcome since March 2, 2019 when the Orange and Blue were behind by 14 at halftime to Newberry. The Lady Eagles outscored the Wolves 22-7 in the third and held on to win 63-61.

The two programs have met five times with the Lady Eagles winning each contest against UVA Wise (3-5, 3-3) including both trips to the Old Dominion State. Four of the outings have been decided by double digits with the exception of February's 92-89 triumph at the Prior Center.

Behind a 24-1 advantage in points off of turnovers, C-N survived despite 62 percent shooting from the Cavs in the second half. The Lady Eagles went 10-for-11 at the charity stripe in the final 10 minutes making 18 of 22 overall in the game. Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) led all scorers with 30 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

Predicted to finish third in the league standings, the Cavaliers lost the first four games of the year before winning three straight but is coming off of a 75-70 loss at Coker on Saturday. It displays the vast difference in performance for the program the last three years. Wise is 20-8 at home including 3-0 this year in that span versus a 9-16 mark when travelling.

This year, the numbers across the board are better in the three home affairs with the club scoring 71 points per game shooting 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from long range. Away from the Prior Center, the unit is shooting 36 percent from the floor and scoring 60 points per outing.

One of the biggest issues facing Wise is turnovers where the team is averaging just shy of 20 per game, the third-highest margin in the league with four games of at least 20. The Lady Eagles are outscoring opponents by 81 off of giveaways this year averaging 27 points per game.

Three players are averaging at least 30 minutes per night led by Nia Vanzant's 36.6 minutes per game. The team's leading scorer is putting up 17 points per game shooting 55 percent from the field. The junior has been in double figures in every game with three of at least 20 and a pair of double-doubles. Kalee Johnson is the other player to score at least 10 per game with 13 yanking down 7.6 rebounds.

"They are an elite level scoring team in my opinion," Mincey said. "Last year they were right behind us. I think they were 14th in the country in scoring. They are very efficient and shoot a high percentage night in and night out. They have some nice pieces on the offensive end of the floor. You are playing them on their home floor. It's a tough matchup and two high-scoring teams going against each other."

Tune into the broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network starting at 5:15 for "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off" on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) with an audio stream available on cneagles.com/live free of charge.

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