Two Peach State foes for C-N at Nighthawk Classic
Carson-Newman (1-1) continues its early road swing as it travels to Dahlonega, Georgia to take on Clayton State (1-1) on Friday at 4 p.m. and #14 North Georgia (3-2) on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the UNG Nighthawk Classic.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
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34 | 19 | 26 | 17 | 96 |
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16 | 17 | 1 | 24 | 58 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
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20 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 62 |
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19 | 15 | 19 | 16 | 69 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (1-1) continues its early-season road swing as it travels to Dahlonega, Georgia to take on Clayton State (1-1) on Friday at 4 p.m. and #14 North Georgia (3-2) on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the UNG Nighthawk Classic.
The theme after splitting a pair of opening weekend games was C-N's struggles to shoot the basketball. Over two games, it made just 29.7% of shots attempted. In C-N's loss to USC Aiken, it made just 26.6% of its shots, the worst shooting day for a Mincey-led team since January 29, 2014 against Anderson. Despite the shots not dropping, the Lady Eagles did excel in other key offensive categories. Head coach Mike Mincey's team only averages 11 turnovers per game, the seventh-best mark nationally. The ball went in the basket from the free throw line, as C-N made 84 percent of their shots from the charity stripe, 10th best nationally.
Defensively, Carson-Newman held its first two opponents to 62 and 59 points. The defensive effort was led by the team's interior defense and shot blocking ability. Mattie Nuckolls' (Chatsworth, Ga.) eight blocks pace a Lady Eagles defense that had 15 of them over the weekend, the third-most nationally.
Carson-Newman's weekend begins with a Clayton State team it will meet for the 12th time. The Lady Eagles have won three of the past four meetings in the series, all in the Mincey era. The two teams last met at the UNG Nighthawk Classic in 2022. Carson-Newman made 64 percent of its three-pointers in an 84-76 win and got a 26 point scoring day from Braelyn Wykle.
Clayton State has started the new season with a win and loss, defeating Shorter by two in the opener before getting blown out by Anderson the next day. The Lakers struggled in a couple areas over this past weekend. They only made six three-pointers and allowed their opponents to shoot 45% from long-range. Despite being outrebounded in both games, Clayton State grabbed a combined 37 offensive rebounds in its first two games.
The Lakers were selected seventh in the Peach Belt's Preseason Coaches' Poll. Jasmyn Burts is the team's top returning player, averaging 8.4 points per game this past season. She is averaging 12 through the first two games of this season. Nya Young is coming off a career-high 21 points in a 22-point loss to Anderson last Saturday.
Carson-Newman's final game of the weekend is against 14th rated North Georgia. The Lady Eagles have lost four of the past five meetings which span over seven years. C-N travelled down to Dahlonega on Dec 21 this past season, losing to the Nighthawks 72-59. Carson-Newman leads the all-time series 9-8 but is just 3-7 in games at the Convocation Center.
Saturday's meeting with a ranked UNG team will be C-N's first crack at beating a ranked squad this season. Since 2008, Carson-Newman is 22-24 against ranked teams and has lost five of its past six. C-N's last road win over a ranked team was an 83-78 overtime victory over #21 Catawba on Jan 12, 2022. Mincey's teams have defeated a ranked squad each of the past nine seasons.
North Georgia was one of a handful of teams invited to the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic two weekends ago, losing to Ferris State and #5 Gannon. Its only win of early season tournament was an 11-point victory over Edinboro. The Nighthawks found their groove this past weekend, defeating Emmanuel and Young Harris by double-digits.
The Nighthawks began the season as the fourth-rated team by the WBCA, but in the first regular season ranking dropped ten spots to 14. Head coach Buffie Burson's squad was picked to repeat as PBC champions.
This weekend's two games will be UNG's first home games since suffering a loss to Coker in the Regional Championship game last season. To start this year, UNG has been led by Caroline Martin and Averie Jones. Those two guards nearly make up half of their team's scoring this season, averaging a combined 32 of the team's 68 points on average.
Tipoff on Friday afternoon is set for 4:00 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 3:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
Team Stats
Clayton St.
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | Clayton St. |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (35-68) | (19-66) |
| Field Goal % | 51.5% | 28.8% |
| Rebounds | 38 | 33 |
| Assists | 23 | 5 |
| Turnovers | 22 | 27 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 28 | 25 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 15 | 13 |
| Pts in the Paint | 24 | 20 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 6 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 31 | 21 |
#14 North Georgia
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | #14 North Georgia |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (18-65) | (22-59) |
| Field Goal % | 27.7% | 37.3% |
| Rebounds | 40 | 45 |
| Assists | 12 | 18 |
| Turnovers | 9 | 15 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 12 | 8 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 3 | 4 |
| Pts in the Paint | 18 | 24 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 4 | 2 |
| Bench Pts | 11 | 1 |
