By Jocelyn VerVelde, Sports Information Coordinator
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With just two weeks left until the tipoff of the 2013-14 season, two members of the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team have been named to the Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference team and the Golden Eagles are the top choice in the OVC East.
Junior Diamond Henderson and senior Molly Heady have been named to the 10-athlete list as voted on by OVC coaches and sports information directors. Both athletes played in all 31 games last season for the Golden Eagles.
A 2012-13 first-team All-OVC player, Henderson averaged 15.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists, and scored a career-high 31 points against Akron last November.
Heady has been a solid contributor during her time at Tech. She averaged 6.7 points and 4.5 rebounds last season while shooting .443 from the field, and .409 from behind the three-point arch. Following the season she was honored with the John P. Hendrix Leadership award by the Tech coaching staff for her leadership on and off the court.
Tennessee Tech won its 18th regular-season title last season after going 19-12 overall and 12-4 in the OVC. The Golden Eagles made their third straight trip to the championship game of the league tournament.
The Golden Eagles were also honored by receiving the most votes in the east division and were predicted to be in first place for the division. Tech received the second most points to UT Martin, who won the OVC tournament last season.
The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team will host Truett-McConnell on Nov. 5 in an exhibition game and will open the regular season hosting Tennessee Wesleyan on Nov. 9. Both games will tip-off at 7 p.m. CDT.
2013-14 OVC
Women’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
(Selected by OVC Head Basketball Coaches and Sports Information Directors)
EAST
Order of Finish Points
1. Tennessee Tech (12 first-place votes)
119
2. Belmont (Nine first-place votes)
115
3. Eastern Kentucky (Three first-place
votes) 95
4. Morehead State
66
5. Tennessee State
65
6. Jacksonville
State
32
WEST
Order of Finish Points
1. UT Martin (22 first-place votes)
132
2. SIUE (Two first-place votes)
103
3. Eastern Illinois
85
4. Murray State
68
5. Southeast Missouri
61
6. Austin Peay
42
(*Schools were not allowed to rank their own team. 6 points awarded for a first-place vote, five for second, etc.
2013-14
Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Basketball
Team
(Selected by OVC Head Basketball Coaches and Sports Information
Directors)
Preseason OVC Player of the Year: Jasmine Newsome, UT Martin
Jasmine Newsome, UT Martin *
Heather Butler, UT
Martin*
Diamond Henderson, Tennessee Tech*
Terrice Robinson, Morehead
State#
Marie Carpenter, Eastern
Kentucky
Tierny Austin, SIUE
Almesha Jones, Morehead State
Jordyn Luffman, Belmont
Kara Wright, Southeast
Missouri%
Molly Heady, Tennessee Tech
* - 1st team All-OVC in 2012-13
# - 2nd team All-OVC in 2012-13
% - OVC All-Newcomer team in 2012-13