No. 13 C-N seeks to avenge January loss to LMU in season finale
February 23, 2021

No. 13 C-N seeks to avenge January loss to LMU in season finale

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time since Feb. 3, 13th-ranked Carson-Newman is not atop the South Atlantic Conference standings as the Lady Eagles prepare for the final game of the regular season Wednesday night at 5:30 against Lincoln Memorial, the first team to earn a win over C-N.

C-N Game Notes (PDF)

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time since Feb. 3, 13th-ranked Carson-Newman is not atop the South Atlantic Conference standings as the Lady Eagles prepare for the final game of the regular season Wednesday night at 5:30 against Lincoln Memorial, the first team to earn a win over C-N.

Wednesday will be senior night as well for the program honoring the careers of Qua Hines (Sevierville, Tenn.) and Madison Bunch (Morristown, Tenn.), a duo that has combined for 110 games, nearly 500 points and 92 three-pointers.

"Bunch has been here the longest and put in her four years of time," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "She went from not getting to play at all to eventually becoming a starter and a glue guy on the team that you knew was always going to give you 100 percent effort.

"Qua, as a transfer, has had a great run in high school and through college. She was a starter for us many, many times. She's a really good basketball player and someone we are going to need on senior night and moving forward. Her demeanor, her ability to guard bigger players has been really special for us."

Over the last four seasons, C-N has lost back-to-back games five times with its last three-game losing streak coming in Feb. 2016. Bouncing back from losses has been a strong point with the team earning double-digit victories in seven of its last eight wins following a loss.

Carson-Newman (14-2, 14-2) has rattled off 11 home victories in a row since losing in double overtime to No. 20 Anderson on Feb. 1, 2020 on a buzzer beater, the ninth time in school history the program has a double-digit home winning string. Nine of the 11 games have been decided by double figures with the unit winning by an average of 23 points. The Orange and Blue are averaging 91 points per game over that time.

A win on Wednesday would match the second-longest home winning streak in program history marking the fifth time that the school has won 12 straight and fourth time under Mincey a string has lasted a dozen affairs.

It ranks 15th among active streaks in the country and the fourth-longest in the region behind North Georgia (35), Lander (24) and Barton (14). Newberry has the next longest streak among SAC schools at six in a row. Since the start of the 2016-17 campaign, the Lady Eagles are 56-9 at home with two overtime losses and no loss margin greater than six points.

Through seven home contests, the Orange and Blue are shooting 51 percent from the field and have shot at least 50 percent in each of the last four home affairs averaging 96 points per game (384 total) and shooting 52 percent from the field, 151-for-288.

Wednesday is the 88th meeting between schools that have been squaring off against each other since 1979. Carson-Newman leads 52-35 but is deadlocked at 11 in 22 tussles during Mincey's tenure. Over the last nine games, the Lady Eagles have won six with the three losses coming by a combined 10 points. Three of the wins have been by double figures.

When the teams met in Harrogate on Jan. 27, the Lady Eagles were 7-0 and had trailed for a grand total of 12:12 but could never swell a lead greater than eight. Lincoln Memorial (8-9, 7-9) led for 16:11 and held off a late rally to drain six foul shots in the final minute to win 87-82.

Since upsetting the Lady Eagles, the Railsplitters are 2-3 with the two victories coming against 1-16 Queens. If you subtract the win over C-N, LMU's conference wins this year are against teams with a league record of 23-54.

In nine road games this year, the team is significantly better shooting in road games making 45 percent from the field and 43 percent from long range, seven and 12 percent better than the margins at home. However it turns the ball over 19 times and snatches 33 rebounds per game.

Offensively, Lincoln Memorial is third in the conference in field-goal percentage making 42 percent. From long range, they are making 38 percent ranking 13th in the country. Over the last seven games, the 'Splitters are averaging just shy of 11 per game including a 19-for-33 night at Queens on Feb. 3.

Six players are averaging double figures this year with Lauren Flowers leading the group at 14 points per game. She has 15 double-digit scoring efforts on the year.

Jordan Maney tallied with 29 points and 13 rebounds adding three steals in the first meeting, one of two outings with 25-plus points. She has scored in double figures in four straight games shooting 57 percent from the field.

Defensively, the club has blocked a total of 14 shots this year, the fewest of any team in the country and grabs the third-fewest rebounds in the league at 36. LMU is third in steals per game at nearly nine with 11 games of at least eight.

Fans can enjoy a night of basketball for free on the Eagle Sports Network. If residents of the Lakeway region want to kick back to listen to the radio they can flip on The Mountain 106.3 WPFT-FM. For those outside of the area, a high definition video stream and an audio option is available on cneagles.com/live beginning at 5:15 p.m. with "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off".

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