Lady Eagles start NCAA Tournament against fourth-seeded, twelfth-ranked Columbus State
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Fifth-seeded Carson-Newman (21-10) begins NCAA Tournament play against fourth-seeded Columbus State (25-4) on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. from Tex Turner Arena.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
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23 | 26 | 17 | 19 | 85 |
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18 | 12 | 18 | 25 | 73 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Fifth-seeded Carson-Newman (21-10) begins NCAA Tournament play against fourth-seeded and No. 12 Columbus State (25-4) on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. from Tex Turner Arena.
For the eighth time in the past nine seasons, Carson-Newman has qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Of the program's now 15 bids to the NCAA Tournament, nine of them have been accomplished in head coach Mike Mincey's 15-year tenure. In 23 total postseason games since going Division II, Carson-Newman is 10-13 and has won its first-round contest six times, including each of the past two seasons. It's the first time in program history that the Lady Eagles have NCAA Tournament wins in consecutive seasons.
The Lady Eagles will be facing a ranked team for the ninth time this season. They are 3-5 against ranked team foes this season and have lost three straight. Friday's matchup will be C-N's seventh meeting in the NCAA Tournament against a ranked team, and it is 1-5 in the previous six games.
All-SAC forward Mattie Nuckolls (Chatsworth, Ga.) has been of the best defenders in the SAC this season. She leads the league in with 63 blocks, the fourth-most in a single-season in program history. For her career, she has 111 rejections, sixth-best in program history. Nuckolls is just 10 away from moving into the top five.
In 61 career games with C-N, Jennifer Sullivan (Knoxville, Tenn.) has made 142 three-pointers, the eighth-most in program history. The sharpshooter is 16 more triples away from Kayla Marosites for seventh on the three-point shooting list. Sullivan's 40.9 career three-point percentage is third-best all-time in program history. This season, she has drilled 81 triples which leads the SAC and is third-most in a single-season in school history.
Carson-Newman and Columbus State have met 14 times in a series that began in 1998. CSU leads the all-time series 8-6, with neither side having won consecutive games since the Cougars won the first three all-time meetings. The two sides have traded wins each of the last 11 meetings.
Friday's night's meeting will be the second NCAA Tournament matchup between the two clubs. They met in Gaffney, South Carolina during the 2015 NCAA Tournament, with the Cougars winning 58-40.
Columbus State enters the Southeast Regional tied for the highest winning percentage in the region with a 25-4 record this season. The Cougars won the Peach Belt Conference's regular season title by finishing 18-2 in conference play, three games better than the other teams. CSU has been ranked in the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association for much of the year and enters NCAA Tournament play as the highest ranked Southeast region team despite its fourth seed in the regional.
"It's nice to play somebody different that you haven't seen all year," Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey said. "It makes the matchup more intriguing. I've kept up with Columbus State all year and they are obviously a good team. I know (Matt) Coach Houser well and they are pressing and platooning a lot of kids and trying to wear you out. It'll be an exciting game. We both play the same pace offensively and I think it could be one of the more exciting first round games."
Columbus State was upset in the PBC semifinals by Augusta. The Jaguars went on to win the PBC to earn the seventh seed in this regional. CSU's only other losses this season are to Eckerd, Georgia College and North Georgia.
Peach Belt Coach of the Year Matt Houser has led the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, and the program's 14th overall bid. Last season, CSU was the five seed and beat four-seeded Francis Marion in the first round of the NCAAT.
The Cougars are led by the Peach Belt's Player of the Year Letiya Reeves. The five-foot eleven guard averages a team-high 17.7 points per game and leads the team in steals with 74. Reeves leads a CSU defense that forces 28 turnovers per game, the third-most nationally this season. The PBC Player of the Year has a good supporting cast, as the Cougars average 30 bench points per game, 12th best in DII.
Tip off from Tex Turner Arena in Harrogate, Tennessee is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Coverage on Friday with the Eagle Sports Network begins at 7:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A live camera of the broadcast crew "On Press Row" will also be available on YouTube.
Team Stats
#12 Columbus St.
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | #12 Columbus St. |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (31-57) | (24-72) |
| Field Goal % | 54.4% | 33.3% |
| Rebounds | 40 | 35 |
| Assists | 21 | 11 |
| Turnovers | 19 | 12 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 13 | 20 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 7 | 24 |
| Pts in the Paint | 34 | 34 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 8 | 12 |
| Bench Pts | 25 | 29 |
