GAME NOTES: Game 1 @ Chattanooga (PDF)
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's a busy weekend for the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team as it kicks off its golden anniversary season with a pair of games on Friday and Sunday.
Up first, the Golden Eagles travel to Chattanooga on Friday to take on the Mocs at McKenzie Arena with opening tip slated for a 2 p.m. Central start. That game will be available on 106.1 The Eagle with Dylan Vazzano providing the radio call, while also streamed on ESPN+ with Chris Goforth and Todd Agne describing the action.
Chattanooga will not allow fans outside of student-athlete families to attend through the end of December, due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Hamilton County.
It's the first matchup of the season for the Golden Eagles after having four games canceled or postponed due to COVID protocols as games against Vanderbilt and UAB were wiped out and the away trip to Jacksonville State slated to be rescheduled.
Tech leads the all-time series 22-5. However, it's also the first time the Golden Eagles have faced Chattanooga since the 2005-06 campaign. In the last meeting, Kendall Cavin, Emily Christian and Meagan Lyons scored 20 or more points to take down the Mocs 82-67 in Las Vegas. Fifteen years later, the two teams square off once more.
Following losses to UAB and Troy, Chattanooga is looking for its first win of the season. Bria Dahl enters Friday's contest as the Mocs' leading scorer, averaging 13.0 points per game, while Amaria Pugh, who led the team in scoring at Troy on Wednesday, is the team leader in rebounds, averaging six per contest.
Chattanooga thus far is shooting at a .381 clip from the field, including .250 (11-for-44) from 3-point range. From the stripe, the Mocs are shooting .554 (31-of-56). They do have a solid defensive effort, collecting 11 blocks – three each from Dial, Eboni Williams and Abby Cornelius – and 12 steals – three each from Dial and Williams – in just two games played.
For the Golden Eagles, it's the first women's game of any kind for the athletics department since March 8 – a softball game against Lipscomb standing as the last completed contest, just three days after the Tech women completed its season at the Ohio Valley Conference tournament in Evansville, Ind.
If anything, Tech is ready to get into action. It'll also be fans' first look at junior transfer Anna Jones, who sat out the completion of the 2019-20 campaign per NCAA rules following her departure from Middle Tennessee.
There's also the senior squad of Kesha Brady, Jordan Brock, Abby Buckner, Megan Clark and Mackenzie Coleman ready to kick off the season with something to prove as the Golden Eagles look to claim its 19th Ohio Valley Conference title, starting with Sunday's matchup at home against Jacksonville State.
Brock, who reached the 1,000-point plateau in the OVC tournament against Southeast Missouri, also stands 11 3-pointers away from breaking assistant coach Allison Clark's program record for career treys. Brady is also within striking distance of reaching the 1,000-point mark, standing with 905 points as Friday's contest begins.
Brady comes into the game averaging 11.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game for her career, followed by Brock with 11.0 points. Coleman is averaging 9.9 points and 4.6 boards.
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