Lady Eagles set to face Clayton State on Friday in NCAA Tournament opener
March 12, 2009
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JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Carson-Newman women's basketball team will face a familiar foe Friday in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C.
The sixth-seeded Lady Eagles (19-10) will square off against the third-seeded Clayton State Lady Lakers (23-6) at 3 p.m. in the Southeast Regional. It will mark the third time in five years the two teams have met in the postseason.
C-N defeated Clayton State 75-61 in the 2005 NCAA tournament and fell to the Lady Lakers 60-36 in the 2007 national tournament.
Lady Eagles head coach Dean Walsh said his team must play well on both ends of the floor against a Clayton State team that has lost just two times in its last 13 games.
"We need a really good showing to have a chance against Clayton State," Walsh said. "It will be by far the most athletic, best rebounding and highest pressure team we will have seen all year."
C-N enters the tournament reeling after an 85-70 loss to Tusculum in the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference tournament on Saturday. The Lady Eagles shot just 34.2 percent (26-of-76) from the floor and turned the ball over 17 times.
Walsh said the only positive he could take from Saturday's loss was his team's performance on the boards. C-N finished the contest with 60 rebounds, including 27 on the offensive end.
"I felt like if there is anything good about Saturday's loss it was our rebounding effort," Walsh said. "We will need that kind of effort against Clayton State to have any kind of a chance."
East Tennessee products Ashley Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and Ashley Tipton (Knoxville, Tenn.) continue to lead the Lady Eagles, but both will be looking to put disappointing efforts in Saturday's loss behind them. The two combined for 5-of-22 shooting and just 14 points. Both still average double figures.
Tipton has another C-N shooting record in her sights, but this time, she is eyeing one of her own marks. The senior needs one three-pointer to match her 71 made triples in 2007-'08, a C-N single-season record. She already owns the South Atlantic Conference record for career percentage at .455 (220-483), and is fourth in conference history with 220 made threes.
The Lady Lakers enter the contest after suffering a 73-57 loss to USC Aiken in the Peach Belt Conference semifinals on Saturday.
Leading the way for Clayton State this season has been a pair of senior guards in Nikkisha Pritchett and Marie St. Fort. Pritchett leads the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game, while St. Fort is averaging 9.9 points per contest. The Lady Lakers are a well-balanced squad as eight players average seven points per game or more.
Clayton State's strength this season has been its defensive pressure. The Lady Lakers have forced 26.9 turnovers per game, including 14.7 steals per contest.
"We've got to be able to handle their pressure," Walsh said. "They say guard play is what gets you through the NCAA tournament, and I think we have the guard play to handle it. It's just how will we handle our nerves."
C-N and Clayton State have played two common opponents this season in North Georgia and Lander. Both teams defeated North Georgia. However, Clayton State fell to Lander twice, while the Lady Eagles defeated the Lady Bearcats 92-83 on Nov. 15.
"Lander has the guard play to handle their pressure and that is maybe what it takes," Walsh said. "The key is we can't turn the ball over and we've got to keep them off the boards to give ourselves a chance to win."
The winner of Friday's contest will face the winner of the matchup between No. 7 Lander and No. 2 Tusculum on Saturday at 6 p.m.
