Lady Eagles visit ‘Splitters eyeing fourth straight SAC win
January 6, 2023

Lady Eagles visit ‘Splitters eyeing fourth straight SAC win

HARROGATE, Tenn. – Looking to win a fourth consecutive South Atlantic Conference affair, Carson-Newman makes the short journey to Tex Turner Arena to face off with Lincoln Memorial on Saturday at 2 p.m.

C-N Game Notes (PDF)

HARROGATE, Tenn. – Looking to win a fourth consecutive South Atlantic Conference affair, Carson-Newman makes the short journey to Tex Turner Arena to face off with Lincoln Memorial on Saturday at 2 p.m.

"We have to do a better job of not fouling, putting them at the free-throw line and do a better job of taking care of the ball," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "I want to give them space to make plays. They have to be able to do that to play in our system."

Some of the Lady Eagles most efficient games on both ends of the floor this season have come against league foes as the unit is averaging 78 points per game through the first five SAC outings of the year. During the three-game winning streak, clubs are posting 56 points per game and each of the three have shot below 40 percent.

This season when Carson-Newman (8-6, 3-2) has scored fewer than 70 points it is 0-4 versus an 8-2 mark when hitting at least the 70-point marker. Under Mincey, the Orange and Blue are 40-65 when failing to crack 70 versus a 191-38 tally when scoring at least 70 in a game.

Saturday is the 92nd meeting between the two programs with the Lady Eagles holding a 55-36 advantage overall but each team winning 20 times in Harrogate. Mincey is 4-7 at Lincoln Memorial (8-4, 3-2) but the club swept the two matchups last year and has won five of the last seven overall.

Before winning by 15 at Holt Fieldhouse in February, C-N won 68-61 in late January at Tex Turner Arena scoring the final six points of the game and holding the Railsplitters without points over the final 2:13 of the game to seal the victory. Eight Lady Eagles finished with at least three rebounds in the game as C-N held a 46-31 advantage on the glass holding a 15-3 lead in second-chance points and a 30-8 differential in points in the paint.

After losing the first two games of December, LMU has won each of its last three games including a one-point victory over UVA Wise on Wednesday as Leah Kestner missed a game-tying foul shot with under a second to play. It was the fourth win this year by single digits that includes an overtime victory at Converse.

Coach Devan Carter's team leans heavily on the three-pointer ranking 11th in America with 28 attempts per contest while making eight. However, the group converts at a 28 percent clip sitting in 220th nationally in efficiency. Forty-five percent of the team's field-goal attempts have come from long range for the year having shot at least 20 in each game for the year. There have been four occasions where the unit has drained double digits with season-lows of four against Tusculum and Emory & Henry.

Alexa Smiddy is third in the league with 2.6 three-pointers per game having made 31 of the team's 94 trifectas for the season. The rookie has scored at least 10 points in 10 of the 12 games for the year and notched a season-high 38 points in 39 minutes in a win over Limestone on Dec. 17.

While the team shoots a bunch of three-pointers, Coker transfer Saquita Joyner leads the team with 18.5 points per game, second to Lyrik Thorne's 18.8 in the SAC. The forward has been in double figures in every game for the year and has six, 20-point efforts with three in her last four.

Defensively, LMU ranks 11th in the league in field-goal percentage defense allowing 41 percent shooting despite giving up 61 points per game. Seven teams have converted at a 41 percent clip or better. Only one team has beaten the Railsplitters when shooting below 42 percent in seven tries when Lander won 57-45 shooting 36 percent on Nov. 16.

Broadcast coverage airs on Mountain Talk 106.3 FM and cneagles.com/live starting at 1:45 p.m. with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off" courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network.

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