Lady Eagles attempt to close January strong at Queens
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Looking to close out the first month of 2017 with a 6-2 record, Carson-Newman hits the road to challenge Queens (N.C.) in South Atlantic Conference play Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. contest.
C-N Women's Basketball Game Notes
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Looking to close out the first month of 2017 with a 6-2 record, Carson-Newman hits the road to challenge Queens (N.C.) in South Atlantic Conference play Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. contest.
"If you are going finish high in our conference you have to wins games on the road," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "If you look at LMU they have won some games on the road and that's why they find themselves in the position they are in. We have done okay on the road but we still have some of the top teams in our conference where we have to go to their place. We have a tough February but I think we are going to be playing meaningful games which is what you are shooting for."
Carson-Newman (12-7, 9-4) is riding a five-game winning streak against Queens (4-14, 4-9) after the Royal won the first two meetings in the series. The last victory for QU over C-N came on Feb. 22, 2014 when it earned a 69-64 road win in Jefferson City.
In the first meeting this season, the Lady Eagles blew out the Royals 95-67 at Mossy Creek behind seven double-digit scorers.
The Lady Eagles have had six players score in double digits twice since the 2000 season both coming in 2008 but never a game with seven until the Dec. 10 win. The most recent occasion came on Dec. 19, 2008 in a 102-81 victory over North Greenville at home.
In the game, C-N shot 61 percent from the floor marking the first time since Feb. 28, 2009 that the Lady Eagles shoot above 60 percent in a contest when they shot 61.4 percent in a 99-90 loss against Wingate.
Queens was led by career-high efforts from McKell Oliverio and Mandy McNeese as each dropped 22 points in the game.
The Royals have lost three straight games and are 1-6 overall in 2017 losing by an average of 18.3 points per game with the lone victory coming at Tusculum on Jan. 14, a 60-45 triumph. Queens has dropped three straight at home with its last home victory coming on Dec. 17 over Mars Hill, 67-56.
On offense, coach Sarah Jansen's unit is highly efficient despite ranking 297th nationally and last in the league in scoring offense with 53.3 points per game. The team is second in the league in field-goal percentage at 43 percent and fifth in three-point percentage at 35.
Only two teams in the country average fewer rebounds per game than the 29.3 Queens posts per evening, just seven of those come at the offensive end ranking third from the bottom. Its rebound margin is -4.9, 10th in the league.
Defensively the Royals rank 10th in field-goal percentage defense yielding a 43 percent clip and 11th in three-point defense percentage at 37 percent.
Oliverio continues to lead the roster with 14.1 points per game, eighth among SAC players. She is second in the conference in minutes per game registering 35.1 per night while placing sixth in field-goal percentage at 49 on the year.
Saturday's game is available on the airwaves on Mountain Country 106.3 WPFT-FM in Sevierville and online at cneagles.com/live starting with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off" on the Eagle Sports Network.
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