LADY EAGLES FACE No. 24 LIMESTONE WEDNESDAY

Carson-Newman finishes three-game homestand at Holt Fieldhouse

The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles (1-1) women’s basketball team will welcome the no. 24 Limestone Saints (1-0) at Holt Fieldhouse on Wednesday night at 6 p.m.

Carson-Newman is finishing a three-game homestand after going 1-1 this past weekend with a 95-72 victory over Lees-McRae on Saturday before falling to Barton 70-66 on Sunday evening. Wednesday’s game against Limestone marks the first for the Lady Eagles against a ranked team since the 2011-12 season.

“Limestone will be just like Barton,” said Carson-Newman head coach Mike Mincey. “They’ll be athletic, they’ll be able to create off the dribble and score, so we’ll have our hands full. This is going to be a great learning experience for our ball club.”

Carson-Newman led Barton 63-58 with just over three minutes left to play, only to see the Bulldogs end the game on a 12-3 run to hand the Lady Eagles their first loss of the season.

Junior Lashawnda Peacher (Springfield, Tenn.) led Carson-Newman in scoring as she scored a career-high 15 points, 12 of which came in the first half helping the Lady Eagles build an early advantage. Peacher was joined in double-digit scoring by freshman Kaitlyn Cupples (Clinton, Tenn.), who scored 11 points and she has now scored in double-digits in her first two games at Carson-Newman.

The Lady Eagles continue to be led in scoring by sophomore Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.), who hit seven 3-pointers as part of 23 points against Lees-McRae on Saturday. She is averaging 12.5 points per game after scoring only two points against Barton Sunday.

The Saints, coached by Corey Fox, are ranked No. 24 in the country according to the Nov. 3 NCAA Division II USA Today Coaches Poll. Limestone is coming off a season where the Saints finished 27-4 while climbing to No. 8 in the rankings, winning their second straight Conference Carolinas championship, and recording the program’s first two NCAA Tournament wins, advancing to the Sweet 16.

Limestone won its season-opener 114-84 over Southern Wesleyan last Saturday, led by forward Celestra Warren who posted a double-double with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Ayshia McNeil also added 20 points.

The Saints were tabbed for a second-place finish in the Conference Carolinas preseason poll, behind Barton. Limestone graduated three 1,000-point scorers off last year’s team.

Wednesday’s game will be carried on the Eagle Sports Network’s flagship station WPFT-FM 106.3 FM, with coverage beginning at 5:45 p.m. with “The Countdown to Tipoff,” and live video streaming is also available on www.cneagles.com.