July 7, 2013

Lady Eagles line 13-14 schedule with six postseason opponents

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head women’s basketball coach Mike Mincey has announced a 2013-14 schedule that will see the Lady Eagles facing off against six teams that made postseason play.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head women's basketball coach Mike Mincey has announced a 2013-14 schedule that will see the Lady Eagles facing off against six teams that made postseason play.

Six of the games are set for play on the hardwood of Holt Fieldhouse.

"It's crucial to challenge the kids early and throughout the year to give ourselves a chance at making the NCAA tournament," Mincey said. "We want to have a strong strength of schedule to be able to do that."

Conference mates Lenoir-Rhyne and Anderson both made the NCAA tournament. The Eagles open with NCAA tournament particpant Barton in the SAC/Conference Carolinas Challenge. A game with Limestone, which made the Sweet 16, looms on Nov. 13.

Other teams lining the schedule that made postseason play are Lee (Dec. 3), which made the NAIA Division I title game, and Kentucky Wesleyan (Dec. 18), which was a five seed out of the Midwest Region.

"We'll know a lot about our basketball team early," Mincey said. "We'll have to be ready to play off the get go. We've started well in the past, but now it'll be even more important. We'll hit two talented teams in Barton and Limestone before we're very heavy in conference play."

The Eagles finished 2012-13 with their second straight winning record at 15-11. With seven newcomers, Mincey wants improvement on that mark; he thinks a schedule with 16 of 28 games at home should help meet that end.

"The confines of Holt Fieldhouse should make us more comfortable," Mincey said. "It should help to acclimate us quicker simply because we're at home for much of the early portion of our schedule."

That early portion of the schedule now includes conference contests. The fifth game of the season on Nov. 20 is a conference showdown with archrival Tusculum. It's the byproduct of a 22-game conference slate with the edition of Queens and Coker to the South Atlantic Conference."

"It'll be a challenge because it's something – as a head coach or an assistant – that I've never had to deal with before," Mincey said. "It does help that we have those four games plus any exhibitions. But the margin for error is smaller."

Nov 9, 2013	Barton	SAC/Conference Carolina Challenge	TBA
Nov 10, 2013	Lees-McRae	SAC/Conference Carolina Challenge	TBA
Nov 13, 2013	Limestone		TBA
Nov 16, 2013	at King (Tenn.)		TBA
Nov 20, 2013	Tusculum *		6:00 PM
Nov 23, 2013	at Coker *		2:00 PM
Nov 26, 2013	at Mars Hill *		6:00 PM
Dec 3, 2013	Lee		6:00 PM
Dec 7, 2013	Catawba *		2:00 PM
Dec 14, 2013	at Lenoir-Rhyne *		4:00 PM
Dec 18, 2013	Ky. Wesleyan		5:00 PM
Jan 4, 2014	at Wingate *		4:00 PM
Jan 8, 2014	Mars Hill *		6:00 PM
Jan 11, 2014	at Queens (N.C.) *		2:00 PM
Jan 15, 2014	Brevard *		6:00 PM
Jan 18, 2014	Coker *		2:00 PM
Jan 22, 2014	at Tusculum *		6:00 PM
Jan 25, 2014	Newberry *		2:00 PM
Jan 29, 2014	at Anderson (S.C.) *		6:00 PM
Feb 1, 2014	at Catawba *		2:00 PM
Feb 5, 2014	Lincoln Memorial *		6:00 PM
Feb 8, 2014	Lenoir-Rhyne *		2:00 PM
Feb 12, 2014	at Brevard *		6:00 PM
Feb 15, 2014	Wingate *		2:00 PM
Feb 19, 2014	Anderson (S.C.) *		6:00 PM
Feb 22, 2014	Queens (N.C.) *		2:00 PM
Feb 26, 2014	at Lincoln Memorial *		6:00 PM
Mar 1, 2014	at Newberry *		2:00 PM