Road rest awaits C-N at Francis Marion
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (8-3) brings the 2025 calendar year to a close when it visits Francis Marion’s (6-4) Smith Center for the first time ever tomorrow at noon in Florence, South Carolina.
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9 | 8 | 27 | 14 | 58 |
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15 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 54 |
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (8-3) brings the 2025 calendar year to a close when it visits Francis Marion's (6-4) Smith Center for the first time ever tomorrow at noon in Florence, South Carolina.
Carson-Newman and Francis Marion renew a series that has five all-time meetings and dates back to 1992. The two sides are matching up for the first time since 2006 when C-N defeated FMU in Salisbury, North Carolina 69-52. The Lady Eagles have won four of the five meetings, with no known meetings having been held at Francis Marion's Smith Center. FMU's lone win in the series was at Holt Fieldhouse in 1997, winning 94-89.
This season, C-N is 3-2 in non-conference games, with three of those games coming on neutral floors. All five games were to begin the year with wins over Peach Belt teams Lander, Clayton State and North Georgia. Wednesday's game will be C-N's first meeting with a Conference Carolinas team since hosting Belmont Abbey on November 29, 2023.
The Lady Eagles have found their stride after a loss to begin December. They have won four straight games, marking the 22nd consecutive year the program has a winning streak of at least four games in a single season. During this winning streak, C-N is averaging 77.7 points per game, shooting 43 percent from the field and making more than nine triples. Defensively, it has been just as good. Mike Mincey's defense has held opponents to 58 points per game on 32 percent shooting during this streak.
Carson-Newman continues to stands out in multiple areas this season. The Lady Eagles leads the SAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.16), assists per game (17.0), blocks per game (6.2), field goal percentage defense (34.8), and free throw percentage (79.2). C-N ranks top 40 nationally in all of those categories, headlined by being the sixth-best shot-blocking team in DII.
After winning five of its first six games of the year, Francis Marion's month of December has been up and down. Wins over SAC schools Wingate, Lenoir-Rhyne and Anderson headlined a strong November, but losses to USC Aiken, Winston Salem State and #24 Columbus State have come this month. A single-digit win over Chowan was the lone win during a four-game road trip.
Despite the struggles as of late, Francis Marion has been outstanding at home this season. They have won all four of their home games this season and have an 11-game home winning streak dating back to last season, matching C-N's 11-game home winning streak which are tied for the longest in the Southeast region. FMU has won 17 of its past 18 home games.
Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year Kiara Croskey is Francis Marion's best player, averaging a team-best 17 points per game on 43 percent shooting. The two-way guard leads the team with 36 assists and is one of the top defenders in the region with her 34 steals in 10 games. Bentlee Chockley is FMU's other double-digit scorer at 10 points per game. She has scored 15 or more in back to back games.
While the Patriots do not lead CC in any statistical categories, they do rank highly in many of them. Head coach Jeri Porter's team grabs 15 offensive rebounds per game, 37th best in DII. While they have allowed close to 66 points per game, the Patriots have excelled with their interior defensive by blocking 3.5 shots per game, led by Jasmine Grant's 24 this season. On the flipside of that, FMU has been its opponents making 31.5% of three-pointers this season, 13th worst in CC.
Tip off with the Patriots is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at 11:45 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on Mix 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live. A live camera of the broadcast crew "On Press Row" will also be available on YouTube.
Team Stats
Francis Marion
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | Francis Marion |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (20-69) | (19-62) |
| Field Goal % | 29.0% | 30.6% |
| Rebounds | 51 | 46 |
| Assists | 14 | 8 |
| Turnovers | 16 | 16 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 16 | 12 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 10 | 8 |
| Pts in the Paint | 28 | 32 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 12 | 11 |
| Bench Pts | 5 | 20 |
