C-N and UT ignite 2022-23 in exhibition on Rocky Top
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman and Tennessee open their 2022-23 seasons Sunday at 2 p.m. inside of Thompson-Boling Arena squaring off in exhibition play returning to a recent tradition after a two-year hiatus in the series.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman and Tennessee open their 2022-23 seasons Sunday at 2 p.m. inside of Thompson-Boling Arena squaring off in exhibition play returning to a recent tradition after a two-year hiatus in the series.
"We are glad to be back on the exhibition schedule there," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "I think it's a great experience especially for our homegrown talent that grew up watching the Lady Vols play. Now they are going to be in that building competing against them. I think we have only two players that have played in that game. The preparation that goes into playing a team of that size and that caliber has always helped us when we go back into Division II play. This year will be no different."
Carson-Newman has collected hardware in each of the last two seasons winning the South Atlantic Conference's regular-season crown in 2020-21 and the tournament championship in 2021-22. The program has reached the NCAA Tournament in five straight seasons, the longest postseason stretch in three decades. Over that period, the club has won 80 percent of its games.
The Lady Eagles return a pair of first-team all-conference selections in Braelyn Wykle (Greeneville, Tenn.) and Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.). Wykle, an All-American as a sophomore, enters the year third on the school's all-time scoring list and fourth in three-pointers. Taylor was fourth in the country in field-goal percentage and C-N was 26-0 when she scored in double figures last year.
Mincey's team can tout one of the top scoring offenses in the country leading the league in seven straight years and ranking in the top 13 nationally in each of the last six. In 2021-22, C-N was fifth with 81 points per game scoring at least 80 18 times while leading the country with 18.4 assists per game.
After playing in exhibition action in 16 years, the teams did not play over the past two years with C-N filling the Covid year with Liberty and Tennessee hosting Georgia College, coached by Kellie Harper's younger brother Ross Jolly a year ago. The Lady Vols have won each exhibition and scored triple digits in 12 of the 16 meetings. The series dates back to 1920 when the Lady Eagles picked up a 14-13 triumph. The Big Orange have won 28 meetings in-a-row since C-N won 36-16 on Feb. 9, 1925.
Last season, Tennessee returned to the Sweet 16 for the 35th time in program history before being bounced by top-seeded Louisville. Harper matched a career high with 25 wins guiding the second program of her career to a Sweet 16 appearance.
Among several graduates, Rae Burrell was the team's second-leading scorer last year and was selected ninth overall in the WNBA Draft to the Los Angeles Sparks. The guard finished her career with 1,131 points, No. 36 on the school's all-time list.
Jordan Horston, the team's leading returning scorer and honorable mention All-American after posting 16 points per game, took a step forward in her career but was limited to 23 games missing the final month with an injury.
The Lady Volunteers were one of the stingiest defensive teams in the nation last year ranking fifth in field-goal percentage defense giving up 34.3 percent from the field and ranking second in the country in rebounding with 48 per game. Tamari Key is a big reason for the team's efficiency defensively leading the country with 119 blocks, a Tennessee record, passing Candace Parker for the program's career all-time lead.
Minnesota transfer Jasmine Powell guides the newcomers to the roster as a preseason watch list candidate for the 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award, given to the top point guard in America. She was a second-team All-Big Ten pick last year and is averaging a dozen points per game for her career.
Entering the year, ESPN has Tennessee listed as a No. 1 seed in the early bracketology joining fellow SEC program and reigning National Champion South Carolina on the top line as one of the nine SEC teams projected to make the field, tied with the ACC for the most in the country.
Sunday's affair will be broadcast through the Eagle Sports Network on cneagles.com/live and 106.3 (WPFT-FM) starting at 1:45 p.m with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off". The affair with also be streaming on the ESPN app with coverage on SEC Network+.
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