By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (10-17, 7-7 OVC) will close out home contests on Monday evening versus OVC-opponent Morehead State (19-8, 9-5 OVC) with tip set for 6 p.m. Monday's game will also serve as the Golden Eagle's Senior Night, with a special presentation before tip.
This will be the second meeting between the two teams this season. In their first matchup at Morehead, the Eagles defeated the Golden Eagles by a 79-65 margin. The victory for Morehead State moved the series score to 59-24, however, still in favor of Tech.
Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson led the Golden Eagles in the contest, tallying 18 points and six rebounds, connecting on nine-of-10 attempts at the free throw line. Two other Tech players scored in double-figures: Hannah Goolsby had 13 points with a team-best eight boards, while Treyvonna "Trey" Brooks had 10. Brianna McQueen led the Eagles with 28 points and three rebounds, connecting on 11-of-12 at the charity stripe. Shay Steele and Eriel McKee also scored in double-figures for Morehead State: Steele had 17 points while McKee tallied 10.
As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 36.1 percent from the floor, 50 percent from the three-point range, and 77.3 percent from the free throw line while the Eagles shot 46.8 percent from the field, 23.1 percent from downtown, and 81.8 percent from the charity stripe. Tech outrebounded Morehead State by a 43-32 margin, however, the Eagles forced 24 Golden Eagle turnovers while allowing just 13.
Hickson leads the Golden Eagles averaging 16.8 points per game, which marks her third best in the Ohio Valley Conference. Hickson shoots 42.9 percent from the field, 33.7 percent from the three-point range, and 84.4 percent from the free throw line. She averages 4 rebounds per contest, while tallying 42 assists and 26 steals thus far this season.
Treyvonna "Trey" Brooks is another key player on the Golden Eagle lineup. She leads Tech off the glass averaging 6.6 rebounds per contest. Brooks also stands as the Golden Eagle's second leading scorer with 11.3 points per game. Brooks shoots a team-best 50.4 percent from the floor, 40 percent from downtown, and 64.7 percent from the charity stripe. In the OVC, she ranks 12th in rebounding, sixth in field goal percentage, 10th in blocks (1.3 per game), and ninth in offensive boards (2.6 per game).
Senior Hannah Goolsby is another go-to player for the Golden Eagles. She averages 8.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest. Goolsby shoots 29.9 percent from the field, 31.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 76.6 percent from the free throw line. On the season, Goolsby has totaled 53 assists and 24 steals for the Purple and Gold squad.
Briana McQueen leads Morehead State averaging 13.7 points per game, 11th best in OVC. McQueen averages 3.6 rebounds per contest while shooting 39.8 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from downtown, and 83.1 percent from the charity stripe. She has dished out a team second-best 79 assists on the season while grabbing 26 steals.
Three other Eagles average double-figures this season: Eriel McKee with 11ppg, Miranda Crockett with 10.8 ppg, and Shay Steele with 10.3 ppg.
McKee leads Morehead State in rebounds averaging 7.3 per contest. She has tallied 47 assists, 15 blocks, and 34 steals thus far this season.
Crockett has grabbed a team-high 44 steals on the season while averaging 5.1 boards per game. She shoots 48.1 percent from the field and 71 percent from the free throw line.
Darianne Seward leads the Eagles in assists with 91 on the season, while teammate Brooks Todd has put up a team-best 73 blocks.
As a team, Tech is shooting 39.5 percent from the field, 31 percent from beyond the arc, and 71 percent from the free throw line while Morehead State is shooting 40.7 percent from the floor, 29.6 percent from the three-point range, and 72.8 percent from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles average 36.9 rebounds and 17.2 turnovers per contest to the Eagles 42 boards and 15.2 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.
For ticket information call 931-372-3140 or visit TTUsports.com.
Photo by Jim Dillon