Division leaders clash as C-N travels to Catawba
February 2, 2023

Division leaders clash as C-N travels to Catawba

SALISBURY, N.C. – When Carson-Newman, leaders of the Mountain Division, and Catawba, atop the Piedmont Division, tangle on Saturday at 2 p.m. inside of Goodman Gym, the top two teams in the South Atlantic Conference will battle for overall league bragging rights.

C-N Game Notes (PDF)

SALISBURY, N.C. – When Carson-Newman, leaders of the Mountain Division, and Catawba, atop the Piedmont Division, tangle on Saturday at 2 p.m. inside of Goodman Gym, the top two teams in the South Atlantic Conference will battle for overall league bragging rights.

"When we played them here – I do think we are better – we were coming back from our Detroit trip and were in the midst of a three-game losing streak," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "We had an opportunity in the fourth quarter but lost by five. They are a good team. It will be a good contest. As the games go on without Lindsey [Taylor] and [Makayla Alvey], I am proud of how we have adjusted and how we have had to play people. We continue to find ways to grind out and win games."

Carson-Newman (14-6, 9-1) is looking to win a 10th straight league game for the first time in three decades. The last time it happened came during the 1992-93 season when the club won 11 in a row from Jan. 11 to Feb. 15 finishing the year 11-2 in league play. The nine-game run is currently tied for the ninth-longest in Division II with Tampa of the Sunshine State.

The Orange and Blue have played one of its most difficult schedules in program history with the overall strength of schedule ranking No. 25 in the country. Saturday is the fifth matchup with a top 25 team, tied for the most by the school in its Division II era. The Orange and Blue are 2-2 in the first four contests of the year and are 7-6 on the road under Mincey.

After walloping No. 8/3 North Georgia in December, the Orange and Blue are seeking back-to-back wins over ranked teams for the first time since a span of four straight victories during the 2017-18 season. C-N has lost its next game against a top 25 teams in following each of its last eight triumphs.

The two clubs collide for the 77th all-time meeting with Catawba (17-4, 9-2) holding a narrow 40-36 edge after taking a non-conference victory at Holt Fieldhouse 63-58 on Nov. 28. However the Lady Eagles have won each of the last six meetings inside of Goodman Gym since a 79-66 defeat on Dec. 16, 2015.

In the first meeting, 22 turnovers and two scoring droughts of four-plus minutes proved to be the difference for the home side as Catawba scored 23 points off of giveaways and won the sixth single-digit game of the last eight between the two clubs. C-N was two percentage points more efficient as the game is the only time this year in 10 games where the team was more effective and lost.

Catawba enters play this weekend 10-0 at home this year and touts the sixth-longest home winning streak in the country of 12 in a row since falling 65-60 to Wingate on Feb. 7, 2022. The Indians are averaging 77 points per game at home versus a 65-point per game pace on the road this year.

Behind a league-best 12.4 steals per game, coach Terence McCutheon's team is forcing 22 turnovers per game for the year, the 17th-best tally in the country. With 16 double-digit efforts in steals for the year, the team has seven and eight in the last two, the first time this year it has been in single digits on bak-to-back nights.

While three players are scoring in double figures on a nightly basis, Lyrik Thorne paces the club with 18.3 points per game ranking second in the league. Ranking fifth nationally with 325 shot attempts, the guard has accounted for 27 percent of Catawba's field-goal attempts. Janiya Downs, second on the team, has taken 199.

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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