DANCING AGAIN! Lady Eagles capture NCAA Tournament bid as the number five seed
INDIANAPOLIS – For the eighth time in the last nine seasons, Carson-Newman women’s basketball is headed to the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Eagles earned their 15th ticket to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships, announced late Sunday night.
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INDIANAPOLIS – For the eighth time in the last nine seasons, Carson-Newman women's basketball is headed to the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Eagles earned their 15th ticket to the NCAA Women's Basketball Championships, announced late Sunday night.
No team in the Southeast region has more NCAA Tournament appearances over the past decade than Carson-Newman's eight.
C-N is the number five seed in the Southeast Region and will match up against fourth-seeded Columbus State in the opening round. The Cougars won the Peach Belt Conference's Regular Season Championship but were upset in the semifinal round of the conference tournament.
Lincoln Memorial was named the top seed and will serve as host to the Southeast region tournament.
The Lady Eagles enter NCAA tournament play with a 21-10 record and already have two postseason wins under their belt by reaching the SAC title game.
Of the now 15 bids to the NCAA Tournament, nine of them have been accomplished in head coach Mike Mincey's 15-year tenure. In 23 total postseason appearances since going Division II, Carson-Newman is 10-13 and has won its first-round contest six times, including each of the past two seasons. It was the first time in program history that C-N has won its opening round game at the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons.
"Obviously we knew were going to be in the tournament," Mincey said. "I said to our current batch of players that they've continued a legacy. We really started this run in 2017-18 when we went to the Elite Eight. We've only missed one tournament since then. They are just keeping on with the tradition of playing well enough and winning enough games to get at-large bids. It's hard and they should be very proud of what they've been able to accomplish by getting back to another NCAA tournament."
The winner of this matchup draws the winner of the one seed Lincoln Memorial eight seed Lees-McRae.
The opening round game is scheduled for Friday, March 13th. More information on tickets and times will be available in the coming days.
Three wins are needed to advance to the National Quarterfinals which will be played March 24-28 in Pittsburgh, PA at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
