Lady Eagles to Face Top-Ranked NKU This Weekend at Travel America Classic
Dec. 11, 2008
JEFFERSON CITY, TENN - The Carson-Newman women's basketball team will face its biggest test of the season this weekend as it travels to Highland Heights, Kentucky to compete in the Travel America Classic.
The Lady Eagles will take on Edinboro (Pa.) at 5:30 p.m. Friday night, before squaring off against the No. 1 team in the country - and defending NCAA Division II national champion - Northern Kentucky on Saturday night.
Carson-Newman head coach Dean Walsh said this will be a good "measuring stick" for his team, who is currently 7-0 on the year.
"Northern Kentucky is a great team," Walsh noted. "It's going to be an honor and a challenge that our kids are really looking forward to."
The Lady Eagles entered this week's USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll at No. 22. They are coming off a 77-72 win over Lincoln Memorial in their South Atlantic Conference opener last Saturday.
Edinboro (Pennsylvania) will enter Friday's contest with a 3-2 record. The Fighting Scots have also been off since last weekend, when they suffered an 85-72 loss to Charleston.
Northern Kentucky is currently 5-0, and also defeated NCAA Division I foe Cincinnati in an exhibition in early November. The Norse are led by senior guard Jessie Slack, who is averaging 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Carson-Newman, the last undefeated team in the SAC, currently leads the league in scoring at 87.9 points per game. The Lady Eagles have five players averaging double figures: Ashley Kyle (15.3 ppg), Shari Buford (13.6), Lindsey Eggleston (10.7), Mandy Mendenhall (10.4) and Ashley Tipton (10.3).
"We are definitely off to a better start than expected," said Walsh. "We are probably just at 70 percent efficiency rate with the system we've implemented, which means we still have a long way to go."
The Lady Eagles return home on Dec. 17 to host North Georgia at 6 p.m. C-N will also host North Greenville University on Dec. 19 at 1 p.m. before breaking for Christmas.
