Posted: Jan 17, 2018
By Layne Weitzel, TTU Sports Information
RICHMOND, Ky. – Tennessee Tech hits the road once again in conference play for a pair of games just north in Kentucky.
Tech tips off with Eastern Kentucky on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 4:30 p.m. CT and Morehead State on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 1 p.m. CT.
COMING UP
Tech hosted Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky at the end of December 2017 in its first pair of 2017-18 conference games, falling to the Eagles 74-67 and to the Colonels 76-68.
As senior starter Asia Harper was away dealing with a family emergency, Tech's younger players were forced to step up against Morehead. Three Tech underclassmen (freshmen MacKenzie Coleman and Jordan Brock and sophomore Akia Harris) all scored in double-figures, with Brock pacing the team with 17 points. Coleman also totaled a career-high six blocks, becoming the first Tech player in nearly two seasons to collect six blocks in a single game. In the end, the visiting Eagles made 11-consecutive free throws to fend off Tech's fourth-quarter comeback.
Tech also made things interesting against Eastern Kentucky. After scoring just 17 points in the first half of play and trailing 35-17 at halftime, Tech exploded for 32 fourth-quarter points and cut its deficit to 69-64 with a minute left in the game. Harris had her best offensive performance of the season, scoring a career-high 22 points along with another personal-best five 3-pointers.
The Golden Eagles have the advantage in each all-time series, leading Morehead State 59-26 and Eastern Kentucky 66-27. Against Morehead State, the series has been a bit tight in Morehead, Kentucky – while Tech has won 32 of its 40 games against MSU in Cookeville, it leads just 22-16 in Morehead. The same is true of the EKU series – Tech boasts a 32-7 record at home but is 24-16 on the road.
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Eagles split their two games in the most recent week of OVC play, defeating Austin Peay 63-59 and falling to Murray State 72-63. With the victory over APSU, Tech snapped a five-game losing streak and got their first conference win of the season.
Tech headed into the locker room against Austin Peay up 26-14, holding its first halftime lead since playing Winthrop on Dec. 19. Tech's lead could be credited to holding the Governors to a 16.1 field goal percentage while shooting 40.9 percent.
Tech's bench of Makenzie Iles, Lacy Cantrell and Brittany Cooper combined for 14 points and six rebounds off the bench.
By the game's end, Tech had held Austin Peay to a field goal percentage of 31.0, while the Governors had entered the game averaging 41.5 percent. Save for Kentoria Alexander, who had entered the game in the last minute of play, every Tech player who saw the floor scored.
Tech also held a small two-point halftime lead over Murray State but struggled to keep it in the second half. After being out-rebounded by Tech 20-10, the Racers responded after halftime, totaling 24 rebounds to Tech's 12 and outscoring Tech 38-27. Tech did tie a season-low 13 turnovers.
Freshman MacKenzie Coleman earned her second double-double of her career, totaling 10 rebounds and a career-high 20 points. She also blocked five shots.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
at Eastern Kentucky
Thursday, Jan. 18, 4:30 p.m. CT
Live stream: OVC Digital Network
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle
at Morehead State
Saturday, Jan. 20, 1 p.m. CT
Live stream: OVC Digital Network
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
Eastern Kentucky Colonels (5-10, 2-4 OVC)
- 2016-17 record: 12-20, 7-9 Ohio Valley Conference (tied for 6th in the regular season; lost to top-seeded Belmont 94-64 in the tournament championship)
- Notables: The Colonels hope to correct their turnover mistakes from this past Saturday at Southeast Missouri, when they gave up the ball a season-high 35 times. SEMO converted those turnovers to 34 points and won the game 69-55. Eastern Kentucky's previous team-high for turnovers this season was 27 in a 69-57 loss to Ohio on Nov. 28, 2017. The Colonels fell to 11th out of the 12 teams in conference play with a -4.2 turnover margin and now average 14.2 turnovers per game… Eastern Kentucky is one of the lower-scoring teams in OVC play, ranking 11th in the conference with an average of 59.7 points per game. The Colonels managed just 49 points in last week's loss at UT Martin.
Morehead State Eagles (13-6, 4-2 OVC)
- 2016-17 record: 21-10, 11-5 Ohio Valley Conference (finished 2nd in the regular season; lost to 7-seed Eastern Kentucky 73-67 in the tournament first round)
- Notables: Since playing Tech in the two teams' OVC opener on Dec. 28, Morehead State has gone 3-2 in OVC play for a conference record of 4-2. Neither team shares a common conference opponent thus far… Senior post Brooke Todd, who blocked six shots in Morehead and Tech's last meeting, matched that number last Saturday in an 81-76 overtime win at UT Martin. Todd ranks second in conference play with 2.8 blocked shots per game, while Tech freshman MacKenzie Coleman ranks third with 2.3 per game.
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Photo by Jim Dillon
