By Jonathan Caudle, TTU Sports Information
No. 6 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (17-12, 10-8 OVC) vs. No. 3 Southeast Missouri Redhawks (22-7, 14-4 OVC)
Game 30 • Thursday, March 5, 2020 • 3 p.m. (CT)
Evansville, Ind. • Ford Center
Video Stream: ESPN+ (Bob Belvin & Helen Williams)
Listen: 106.1 The Eagle (Dylan Vazzano)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Twitter Updates: @TTUWBB
Series Record: Tech leads, 32-24 (Last: Tech L 72-59, 2/22/20)
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The No. 6-seeded Golden Eagles make a return trip to the OVC Tournament taking on No. 3-seeded Southeast Missouri on Thursday, March 5 at 3 p.m. inside the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. It marks the second-straight appearance in the OVC tournament for Tech and its first back-to-back trips since the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
About the Golden Eagles
The No. 6-seeded Golden Eagles finished the regular season 17-12 on the season and 10-8 in OVC play and head into Thursday's first round matchup against Southeast Missouri looking to snap a four-game skid.
Tech's junior duo of Kesha Brady and Mackenzie Coleman have led the Golden Eagles offense this season, averaging 14.4 and 11.4 points per game. Senior Akia Harris has recorded a team-leading 4.8 assists per game. Defensively, senior Anacia Wilkinson has been the Golden Eagles stout pain protector as she leads the team in rebounds with six per contest and blocks with 2.4 per game.
The Golden Eagles rank first in the OVC in 3-point field goal percentage (.348), assist/turnover ratio (1.1), fewest fouls (431), and personal fouls per game (14.9). The Golden Eagles also rank nationally No. 22 for 3-point field goals made (236) and No. 26 nationally for 3-point field goals made per game (8.1).
About the Redhawks
The No. 3-seeded Southeast Missouri finished the season 22-7 overall and 14-4 in conference play. The Redhawks produced an 11-game winning streak during the conference season, before closing out the season 2-2 with losses against Jacksonville State and OVC regular season champion UT Martin.
The Redhawks duo of Tesia Thompson and Carrie Shephard lead the Redhawks offense, averaging 18.3 and 16.6 points per game. Thompson has also pulled down a team-leading 7.4 rebounds per contest. Taelour Pruitt and Shepard lead SEMO in assist, averaging 3.6 and 3.5 assists, respectively. Shepard has collected a team-leading 2.3 steals per game, while Latrese Saine has earned a team-leading 1.5 blocks per game.
In the OVC, the Redhawks rank first in scoring offense (73.1), scoring margin (10.5), offensive rebounds per game (16.1), rebounding margin (9.3), and won-lost percentage (75.9).
Tech vs. Southeast Missouri
Tech leads the all-time series over Southeast Missouri, 32-24, but the Redhawk have won the last four matchups. The Golden Eagles hold the advantage in Cookeville, 17-8, while the Redhawks hold a 13-12 advantage in Cape Girardeau. At neutral sties, the series is tied 3-3. In their last meeting, Tech fell in a 72-59 defeat during its annual Play4Kay game and Senior Day on Feb. 22 inside the Hooper Eblen Center.
Last Time Out
Tech fell in a 64-61 heartbreaker during its regular season finale against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. After trailing 59-50 with 5:55 to play, the Golden Eagles produced an 11-4 run to bring the game within two with 35 seconds remaining but couldn't get a layup or 3-pointer to fall as the Gamecocks would eventually claim the 64-61 victory.
Anacia Wilkinson had a huge game, tying for a game-high, as well as a career-high, 19 points, shooting 50 percent (6-of-12) from the field and 78 percent (7-of-9) from the free throw line. She also flirted with a double-double, grabbing seven boards. Junior Abby Buckner led the Golden Eagles on the glass, pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds, while also netting six points, and dishing out a pair of assists. Junior Kesha Brady joined Wilkinson in double-figures, netting 11 points in the contest, while junior Mackenzie Coleman recorded seven points, a team-high two blocks, and two rebounds in the contest.
Stingy Defense
The Golden Eagles have held 19 of their 29 opponents below 70 points this season, 12 of which were held below 60 points. Through 29 games, the Golden Eagles have surrendered just 64 points per game. Since the beginning of the 2018-19 season, the Golden Eagles hold a 29-7 advantage when holding opponents to 65 points or less.
Record-breaking Career
Anacia Wilkinson became the Tennessee Tech career-leader in blocked shots with 200 rejections to date, which also marks her as the first ever Golden Eagle to surpass 200 blocks during their career. The record was previously held by Melinda Clayton from 1986-90, who tallied 194 career blocks. Wilkinson also set the school record last season for blocked shots in a season with a dominant 92 blocked shots, as well as tying the single-game record for blocks twice during her career with nine against Tennessee State during the 2018-29 season and a second time earlier this season against Morehead State on Jan. 4. Wilkinson leads the Tech record books in blocks per game, averaging 2.0 per contest throughout her career.
Dropping Dimes
Senior guard Akia Harris became the sixth player in program history to surpass 500 career assists during the Golden Eagles' regular season finale, recording a trio of assists against the Gamecocks. She ranks 6th all-time in Tech history with 502 career assists during her four-year career.
Approaching Milestones
Jordan Brock has netted 994 career points as a Golden Eagle, putting her just 6 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 212 through 91 contests and 14 away from breaking the school record, held by current assistant coach Allison Clark.
Akia Harris has also collected 976 points throughout her career at Tech and is just 24 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
If Tech defeats No. 3-seed Southeast Missouri, the Golden Eagles will face the winner of No. 2-seed Belmont vs. No. 7-seed Austin Peay on Friday, March 6 at 3 p.m. inside the Ford Center.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
