By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (3-8) has returned home to prep for another road contest this week. The Golden Eagles will travel down I-40 to take on in-state competitor Vanderbilt University (9-1) on Sunday in a 2 p.m. contest in Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn.
Tech currently leads the series over Vanderbilt 10-7 with the last meeting between the two teams occurring in the 2012-13 season. There, the Commodores topped the Golden Eagles 77-50 in Eblen Center. Vanderbilt is currently on a two-game winning streak over Tech, however, the Golden Eagles own the longest run in the series; winning seven games in-a-row.
This matchup will be a particularly special occasion for head coach Kim Rosamond as she returns to Vanderbilt as a first year head coach after spending nine seasons as an assistant coach for the Commodores.
While at Vanderbilt, Rosamond consistently helped the Commodores land highly rated signing classes. Those highly decorated players have enabled Vanderbilt to maintain its status as one of the nation's top women's basketball programs.
Last season, Rosamond helped the Commodores post an 18-14 overall record, including a pair of victories over Top 25 teams, beating No. 12 Kentucky and No 24 Missouri. Vanderbilt also recorded two wins in the SEC Tournament.
Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson leads the Golden Eagles on the season averaging 14.3 points per game. She shoots 38.5 percent from the field, 28.9 percent from the three-point range, and 84.0 percent from the free throw line. Hickson averages 3.1 rebounds per game and has tallied 17 assists and seven steals thus far this season.
Treyvonna "Trey" Brooks is a key player to watch on the Golden Eagle lineup. Brooks is a threat both offensive and defensively as she averages 10.1 points (second-best on team) and 6.9 boards (best on team) per game. She shoots 44.9 percent from the floor, 21.4 percent from downtown, and 63.2 percent from the charity stripe. Brooks leads the Golden Eagles in blocks on the year (15) and is third in steals (15).
Senior Hannah Goolsby and freshman Akia Harris are two others to watch.
Goolsby is Tech's third leading scorer averaging 7.9 point per game. She also averages 3.3 rebounds per game, while standing as Tech's third leader in assists (20) and is tied for the leader in steals (16). Goolsby is the squad's ace beyond the arc as she leads Tech in three-pointers shooting 31.7 percent on the season.
Akia Harris leads the Golden Eagles in assists with 40 already this season. She is Tech's fourth leading scorer with 6.9 points per game and is tied for the leader in steals with 16 on the year.
Rachel Bell leads Vanderbilt averaging 13.0 points per game. Bell shoots 43.1 percent from the field, 40 percent from the three-point range, and 78.3 percent from the free throw line. She averages 2.4 rebounds per game and has tallied 20 assists, eight steals, and five blocks this year.
Christa Reed is a player to watch on the Commodore lineup as she is the team's second leading scorer (11.5 ppg) and third leading rebounder (5.2 rpg). Reed shoots 44.3 percent from the floor, 43.6 percent from downtown, and 80 percent from the line.
Marqu'es Webb is Vanderbilt's leader off the glass averaging an impressive 9.9 rebounds per game. Webb also averages 6.3 points per game, shooting 55 percent from the field and 67.9 percent from the charity stripe.
Kayla Overbeck is likely to do big things in the matchup as well. Overbeck averages 9.2 points and 6.3 boards (second best on team) per game. She leads the Commodores in blocks (9) and steals (14) this season while shooting 62 percent from the floor and 71.4 percent from the line.
As a team, Tech shoots 36.5 percent from the field, 27.1 percent from downtown, and 68.4 percent from the free throw line while Vanderbilt shoots 44.4 percent from the floor, 42.2 percent from the three-point range, and 77.7 percent from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles average 36.5 caroms per game to the Commodores' 40.5, however, Tech allows just 16.5 turnovers to Vanderbilt's 18.4 turnovers per game.
You can follow the Golden Eagles online on the TTU Sports and Tennessee Tech Women's Basketball Facebook pages or on Twitter at @TTUGoldenEagles and @TTUWBB.
Photo by Jim Dillon
