Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (17-10, 10-6 OVC) vs. Belmont Bruins (19-8, 14-2 OVC)
Game 28 • Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 • 5 p.m. (CT)
Nashville, Tenn. • Curb Event Center
Video Stream: ESPN+
Listen: 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Twitter Updates: @TTUWBB
Series Record: Tech leads, 27-22 (Last: Tech L 59-47, 1/30/20)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech women's basketball closes out its regular season slate this weekend, traveling first to Music City to take on the Belmont Bruins on Thursday, February 27 at 5 p.m. inside the Curb Event Center.
About the Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles enter Thursday's contest looking to snap a two-game skid after falling 86-65 against UT Martin and 72-59 against Southeast Missouri.
Tech is led by Kesha Brady who averages 14.8 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, and 1.7 assists per game. Fellow juniors Mackenzie Coleman and Jordan Brock have also recorded double-digit scoring this season, averaging 11.4 and 10.1 points per game, respectively.
The Golden Eagles rank first in the OVC in 3-point field goal percentage (.350), assists (417), assist/turnover ratio (1.06), assists per game (15.4), fewest fouls (407), and personal fouls per game (15.1). As a team, Tech averages 70.3 points per game, while allowing only 63.9 points per game.
About the Bruins
Belmont heads into Thursday's clash riding a six-game winning streak, dating back to the Bruins 70-53 victory over Murray State on Feb. 6.
Ellie Harmeyer leads the charge for Belmont, averaging a team-leading 19 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. Maura Muensterman is the Bruins second-best scorer this season, averaging 8.7 points per game. Jamilyn Kinney leads the team in assists with 4.4 per game and steals with 1.5 per contest.
As a team, the Bruins average 61.9 points per game, but have held opponents to only 56.5 points per contest this season. In the OVC, the Bruins rank first in scoring defense (56.5), 3-point field goal defense (.251), field goal percentage defense (.335), and defensive rebounds per game (31.4).
Tech vs. Belmont
The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series against Belmont, 27-22. In Cookeville, Tech holds an all-time lead of 10-7. The Golden Eagles also hold a lead in Nashville, 9-6, and 2-1 at neutral locations. However, Belmont holds the all-time lead over Tech at unknown sites, 8-6. The last meeting between the two squads was on Jan. 30 in Cookeville when Belmont defeated Tech 59-47 inside the Hooper Eblen Center.
Last Time Out
The Golden Eagles fell in a tough 72-59 defeat against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks on their Play4Kay and Senior Day.
Wilkinson closed out the final home game of her career in the most perfect way possible, becoming Tennessee Tech women's basketball's career-leader in blocked shots. Fellow senior Akia Harris also tied for No. 6 all-time at Tech in assists, dishing out three dimes in the contest.
Junior Mackenzie Coleman and Wilkinson led the Golden Eagles on the offensive end, tallying 16 points and 14 points, respectively. Wilkinson added seven blocks and pulling down five rebounds. Junior Abby Buckner and freshman Jada Guinn grabbed a game-high eight rebounds apiece in the contest.
Stingy Defense
The Golden Eagles have held 19 of their 27 opponents below 70 points this season, 13 of which were held below 60 points. Through 27 games, the Golden Eagles have surrendered just 63.9 points per game. Since the beginning of the 2018-19 season, the Golden Eagles hold a 29-6 advantage when holding opponents to 65 points or less.
Hot Starts
The Golden Eagles have opened the scoring in 15 of their 27 contests this season, with the 12 games proving differently being against Southern Illinois, Middle Tennessee, Western Carolina, Morehead State, Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee State, Jacksonville State, and twice against UT Martin and Southeast Missouri. Tech has also outscored its opponents 459-406 in the first quarter and 888-788 over the first 20 minutes so far this season, leading to an average halftime score of 33-29.
Record-breaking Career
Anacia Wilkinson had the performance of a lifetime during her final home game inside the Hooper Eblen Center as she became the Tennessee Tech career-leader in blocked shots with 197 rejections to date. The record was previously held by Melinda Clayton from 1986-90, who tallied 194 career blocks. She set the school record last season for blocked shots in a season with a dominant 92 blocked shots. She has also tied the single-game record for blocks twice with nine against Tennessee State during the 2018-29 season and earlier this season against Morehead State on Jan. 4. Wilkinson also leads the Tech record books in blocks per game, averaging 2.0 per contest throughout her career.
Approaching Milestones
Jordan Brock has netted 980 career points as a Golden Eagle, putting her just 20 points away from breaking the 1,000-point mark and becoming the 31st Golden Eagle in school history to achieve the feat. She has also been a dominant long-range threat for the Golden Eagles ever since arriving in Cookeville. Brock currently sits 2nd all-time at Tech in made 3-pointers with 209 through 89 contests and 17 away from breaking the school record, held by current assistant coach Allison Clark.
Akia Harris ranks tied for 6th all-time in assists with 497 and will cement her place in the Tech record books with her next dime this season. She has also collected 963 points throughout her career at Tech and is just 37 points shy of becoming the 31st player in Tech history to surpass the 1,000-point mark during their career as a Golden Eagle.
A Look Ahead
Following Thursday's game, Tech will close out its regular season slate on Saturday, Feb. 29 as the Golden Eagles travel to Jacksonville, Ala. to take on the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:45 p.m.
