Carson-Newman Women’s Basketball Frontcourt Position Preview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With the start of the season nearly 48 hours away, the conclusion of the Carson-Newman women’s basketball preview shines the light on the Lady Eagles frontcourt, a unit that returns every minute from last year, with Harli Smith.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With the start of the season nearly 48 hours away, the conclusion of the Carson-Newman women's basketball preview shines the light on the Lady Eagles frontcourt, a unit that returns every minute from last year, with Harli Smith.
Coach Mike Mincey's team was an elite interior unit during a regular-season championship campaign. Despite making seven triples per game, the fewest since 2014-15, C-N made 52 percent of its shots from inside the arc. The only other season in Mincey's tenure where the team made more than half of its deuces was during the Elite Eight year of 2017-18, a 51 percent clip.
The Lady Eagles averaged 39 points in the paint during the 19-game schedule with nine efforts of at least 40 including an eye-popping 62 against Wingate on Jan. 23. Since the stat has been logged in 2015, that margin tied the single-game high while the season average bypassed the Elite Eight group's total of 37 for the most per outing in a year.
Smith was a part of a starting five that scored 66 points per game while the bench accumulated 13 on a nightly basis. The Jamestown, Tenn. native started 17 of 19 games averaging 24.1 minutes, 8.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists. She scored in double figures seven times leading the team in the NCAA Tournament's first round affair against Catawba on March 12 with 13 points
"This summer I focused on my threes," Smith said. "Last year I mostly penetrating and driving so I need to work on my outside shots and improve that. I have been working on my right hand as well. We have a lot of maturity on our team with the starters returning. There is a lot of chemistry that we have. The newcomers we are bringing in are mixing in right with us."
Addison Byrd (Nashville, Tenn.) is the final remaining member from the 2018 region title team earning a third consecutive All-SAC laurel being named to the second team. She is one of the five players in program history to be lauded three times in her career. On the year, she filled up the stat sheet with 11 points per game, 6.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists totaling 19 steals and 14 blocks. She scored in double figures eight times posting her best night in the SAC Quarterfinals on Monday with 20 points, her fifth career 20-point night, on 8-for-12 shooting with 4-for-6 accuracy from deep. The Music City native needs 78 points to expand the program's 1,000-point club.
One of the biggest reasons for the improvement on the interior was the presence of Lindsey Taylor (Maryville, Tenn.). The first-team All-SAC honoree scored in double figures 13 times with four outings of at least 20 points on the year. She had seven double-doubles ranking 34th nationally in the category converting field-goal attempts at a 62-percent clip, good for tops in the SAC and fifth in Division II. All told, she led the team in scoring three times and in rebounds 13 times including a career-high night of 16 at UVA Wise on Feb. 10 where she scored 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting. Taylor swatted 19 shots, good for ninth in the league and was sixth in rebounding with a 9.1 average.
"She has brought in a big inside position where we don't have to just rely on our guards shooting," Smith said. "She has done so much for us and she shoots a high percentage. We can throw her the ball and be confident that she is going to get us two points."
Sydney Pearce (Johnson City, Tenn.) became one of the top shot blockers in the country tallying 29 total blocks, she was sixth in the league and 29th in the country while her 1.53 blocks per game average was good for third in the league and 42nd in Division II. She rejected at least three shots five times and improved her shooting percentage to a career-best 53 percent.
"Sydney has gotten better every year since I have been here," Smith said. "She is more confident. She is a force in there. We are always scared to take it in in practice because we know that Syndey is going to block us."
Katie Bean (Knoxville, Tenn.) registered 7.1 minutes per game over 15 appearances, yanked down a career-high six rebounds twice and swatted two shots in three games.
The lone newcomer to the unit is a six-foot-four rookie out of Danville, Ky., Ruthie Mbugua who posted 16 points and 16 rebounds in just her second year of organized basketball playing at Danville Christian Academy.
"For not finishing last year how we wanted to, we were still picked No. 1," Smith said. "That means a lot to us. It fired us up and made us want to work harder and what we deserve this year. We are really excited for that and excited to show people what we have."
The season opens with a prime top 25 meeting against third-ranked Lander on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. from Hickory, N.C. for a game airing on the Eagle Sports Networks starting 15 minutes prior to tip-off with "The AEC Countdown to Tip-Off".
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