Stretch run starts with C-N hosting Tusculum
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – As the calendar flips to February, Carson-Newman prepares for the final month of the regular season starting on Wednesday night inside of Holt Fieldhouse against South Atlantic Conference rival Tusculum for a 5:30 p.m. opening tap from Mossy Creek.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
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20 | 11 | 20 | 15 | 66 |
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21 | 20 | 18 | 23 | 82 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – As the calendar flips to February, Carson-Newman prepares for the final month of the regular season starting on Wednesday night inside of Holt Fieldhouse against South Atlantic Conference rival Tusculum for a 5:30 p.m. opening tap from Mossy Creek.
"Obviously it's a rivalry game just like the LMU game was," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "They are coming in here probably wanting revenge since we beat them up there. It should be a good contest. They have a player back in Dixon and we know that she is tough to guard and a tough player to play against. We prepare the best way we can and come in here and try to put the same overall effort in."
Carson-Newman (17-4, 14-3) has played some of its best basketball in February since the start of 2016 going 33-7 in the second month of the year during that five-year span with no more than two losses in any of those seasons. Last season, the Lady Eagles won eight of their nine February affairs.
Wednesday is the 79th meeting between C-N and Tusculum (7-12, 5-10) with the Lady Eagles on top 58-20 after thrashing the Pioneers 94-68 on Nov. 16. Prior to that contest, each of the prior six meetings had been decided by single digits with the differential being a total of 28 points.
Mincey's club picked up their biggest win over Tusculum since winning by 37 on Jan. 21, 2015. It was the largest road win in the series by the program since winning by 39, 94-55, on Jan. 26, 1999. Overall in the matchup, the Orange and Blue shot 52 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by 14, 42-28. C-N forced 21 turnovers and scored 24 points off of the giveaways getting 42 points in the paint.
Carson-Newman has dominated at Holt Fieldhouse to the tune of a 33-6 advantage in the series. However the Lady Eagles lost inside of the friendly confines the last time the two clubs clashed in Jefferson City losing 71-66 on Jan. 15, 2020. The Lady Eagles turned the ball over seven times in the fourth quarter and failed to make a field in the final 5:07 of play watching an eight-point halftime lead evaporate.
The Pioneers enter the contest in a logjam of teams on the conference table separated by two games between fifth and 11th sitting in a three-way tie for ninth. Coach Meagan Price's team has won back-to-back games once this year coming on Dec. 15-18 against Newberry and Lenoir-Rhyne but will have a chance in Holt after beating the Bears 78-51 on Saturday.
Defense has been a strong suit all season long limiting foes to 61 points per game and 37 percent shooting, the second-best rate in the conference. Eight of the last nine teams have failed to score more than 66 points with the outlier being Anderson winning 80-55 in Pioneer Arena.
At the other end of the floor, Tusculum is the third-lowest scoring offense in the league at 59 points per game relying heavily on the three where it hits seven per game. The team has attempted the second-fewest foul shots in the SAC attempting 13 on average.
After missing the first semester, honorable mention All-SAC selection Brianna Dixon has provided a spark offensively leading the team with 14 points per game. She has scored in double figures in five consecutive contests and seven of the nine she has suited up for this year matching a season-high 21 points in the win over Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday.
Fellow All-SAC pick Jalia Arnwine is second on the roster with 13 points on a nightly basis and has been in double digits in 12 of the last 13 outings coming off of a season-high 24 points drilling 9-for-14 shots for the second straight game on Saturday.
The club's talented trio concludes with Mya Belton who ranks second in the league with nine rebounds per game. She has posted double digits on average in her last 13 games with 10 total on the year posting six double-doubles on the year with 14 games of at least 10 points.
Fans can enjoy the broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network starting at 5:15 p.m. for "The Appalachian Electric Cooperative Countdown to Tip-Off" on Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) with audio and video streams available on cneagles.com/live free of charge.
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Team Stats
Tusculum
| Game Statistics | Tusculum | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (21-63) | (28-61) |
| Field Goal % | 33.3% | 45.9% |
| Rebounds | 31 | 43 |
| Assists | 12 | 20 |
| Turnovers | 16 | 19 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 15 | 6 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 7 | 17 |
| Pts in the Paint | 20 | 32 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 11 | 10 |
| Bench Pts | 16 | 26 |
