By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The 'R' in Tennessee Tech women's basketball's S.O.A.R. mentality stands for 'respond positively'; after suffering their first home loss of the season on Thursday, a positive response will be exactly what Kim Rosamond's Golden Eagles will be looking for when they take on Murray State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the Eblen Center.
PLAY4KAY
Tennessee Tech will host its Play4Kay game Saturday, where it will wear pink uniforms and shoes to show support for cancer awareness.
The pink jerseys will feature the surnames of select cancer survivors and others affected by cancer. The jerseys have been generously sponsored by members of the Tech community and women's basketball team.
Tech players will also escort these survivors and those affected by cancer in a presentation during halftime of the men's basketball game on Saturday.
The event will run in conjunction with the athletic department's Think Pink initiative, which will feature a "pinked-out" video board and a Think Pink t-shirt toss.
Everyone in attendance at the game is encouraged to wear pink as well.
TOUGH NIGHT
Tech's shooting percentages from the floor (35.8 percent) and the 3-point line (30 percent) were their lowest in the Eblen Center this season.
Despite their lackluster performance from behind the arc, the Golden Eagles still shot the deep ball better than Austin Peay (27.8 percent), which marks the first time this year that TTU has taken a loss while showcasing higher accuracy from long range.
SECOND QUARTER STRUGGLES
Opponents have done a lot of damage in the second period over Tech's last three games, where the Golden Eagles are a cumulative minus-17 on the scoreboard (54-37). This mark stands in contrast to Tech's totals from the first quarter (minus-1, 62-61), the third quarter (plus-5, 55-50) and the fourth quarter (minus-2, 51-49).
NACI HITS 100
With five blocks Thursday night, Anacia Wilkinson became the eighth Golden Eagle to go over the century mark for her career. With 102 rejections, she is No. 7 on Tech's all-time list.
STREAK ROLLS ON
While its longevity was in question until the late stages of the second half, Jordan Brock's string of consecutive games with double-figure scoring remained intact Thursday night, as she drained two 3-pointers down the stretch to finish with 11 points.
MURRAY STATE PROFILE
Murray State has been a member of the Ohio Valley Conference since the league's first season of women's basketball, 1977-78, and has built a 274-375 record over 41 seasons.
Murray State won its lone regular-season conference championship in the 2008-09 season, and won the OVC Tournament the year before that, securing the program's only NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008.
The Racers are led by second-year head coach Rechelle Turner, and have put together a 7-13 record in 2018-19 with a 3-6 mark in the OVC. With Thursday's win at Jacksonville State, MSU has moved into a three-way tie with JSU and Eastern Illinois in the league standings.
Gardner Webb transfer Evelyn Adebayo, a four-time OVC Newcomer of the Week this season, leads the team and ranks No. 3 in the league in scoring at 17.8 points per game.
Adebayo is the only player in the conference averaging a double-double, as she pulls down a league-best 11.2 rebounds per contest. She's also listed in the OVC top 10 for field goal percentage (.479), free throw percentage (.796) and minutes per game (33.3), and is hitting 42.9 percent of her 3-pointers in conference play.
Freshman guard Macey Turley has also starred for the Racers, owning the 11th-best scoring average in the conference (12.9), the 3rd-highest assist rate (4.6 pg), the 4th-best free throw percentage (.836) and the second-most minutes per game (33.5).
Adebayo and Lex Mayes are the biggest threats from long range, clipping at .383 and .357, respectively. Mayes' mark is No. 10 in the OVC, while Adebayo would be sixth if she met the league minimum for attempts.
SERIES NOTES
Tech has dominated its 82-game series with Murray State, owning a record of 64-18 against the Racers that dates back to the 1970-71 season.
TTU prevailed in the first 14 games in a row before Murray recorded a win on Feb. 11, 1983, and then split a pair of meetings with the Golden Eagles in 1984.
Following that loss, Tech would assume control in the head-to-head, winning 23 of the next 26 matchups to take a 38-4 overall lead.
After Murray State wins in 1996 and 1997, Tech would run off 17 more victories in a row through the end of the 2004-05 season, which saw the series lead increased to 55-6.
Murray State put together its longest winning streak after that, taking six straight from 2007-2010. Tech snapped that skid on Feb. 11, 2010, and has won seven of the 12 meetings since.
Kim Rosamond is 1-2 against Murray State, winning her first encounter 72-54 in Cookeville on Jan. 7, 2017. Akia Harris recorded the program's 10th triple-double in that contest with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.
Both of the losses last season came by nine points or less. Mackenzie Coleman scored 20 points in each game, recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds in the first meeting, and nearly had another with 8 boards in the second.
Harris was also in double figures for both games, scoring 14 points and 11 points, respectively.
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Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
