By Layne Weitzel, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech women's basketball begins its 48th season late Friday afternoon, playing host to Tennessee Wesleyan in its season opener.
The game, which tips off at 5:30 p.m. CT, will kick off Tech's first basketball double-header of 2017-18 (the Tech men also open their season against Midway at 7:30 p.m. CT).
Tech met Tennessee Wesleyan just last season on Nov. 14, 2016, defeating the Bulldogs 54-41 in Cookeville and giving Kim Rosamond the first win of her head coaching career. The Golden Eagles are 5-0 all-time against TWU.
Tech returns two starters from that game (Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson, who collected a team-leading 17 points, and Akia Harris, who made just the second start of her college career), but the team as a whole looks a lot different this time around.
Rosamond has used the phrase "new faces" quite a bit when describing this year's team, as she should. After losing five members of the 2016-17 roster, the Golden Eagles have reloaded with nine new contributors (seven freshmen and two junior college transfers) to link up with returnees Harris, Hickson, Anacia Wilkinson, Makenzie Iles, Asia Harper and Brittany Cooper, which gives Tech some desperately needed depth.
Tech is among a small group of Division I programs who have at least seven true freshmen on their roster this season. Among them are Fordham (eight), Northern Kentucky (seven), Presbyterian (seven), Long Beach State (seven), Savannah State (nine), Air Force (10), OVC foe Eastern Kentucky (eight), Furman (seven), Incarnate Word (eight), Alabama A&M (nine), Southern (seven) and Coastal Carolina (seven).
The Golden Eagles offered a glimpse of what's to come this season in a home exhibition game Sunday, where it defeated Tusculum College 79-51 thanks to a second-half offensive outburst from a mix of returning players and newcomers.
That will be the key to this season – figuring out how the two different groups will blend together to create one team.
"We have six returning players coming back off of last year's team, so that means we have six players in that locker room that understand the standard, the expectation and how we do things on and off the court, and that's been tremendous for us," said Rosamond at OVC Media Day in late October.
"We signed a very large signing class last year. A lot of new faces that we're blending in right now, but (we're) excited about the growth that we've made from last year to this year and looking forward to what I think this team can accomplish this season."
The other Ohio Valley Conference basketball coaches have recognized that growth, voting Tech to finish fifth in the league this season after being picked 11th in the preseason last year. Preseason rankings are something that Rosamond says are noticed and appreciated but not focused on.
Right now, Tech will focus on what it can control – gaining confidence, building trust and getting better, which starts against Tennessee Wesleyan.
- In honor of Veterans Day, all military veterans will receive free admission to both double-header games.
- 2016 record: 18-14, 13-9 Appalachian Athletic Conference
- Notables: Tennessee Wesleyan has already played three games this season – two regular-season games against Lindsey Wilson and Indiana University East and an exhibition against common opponent Middle Tennessee (all were losses)… TWU will technically count the game against Tech as an exhibition.
