GAME NOTES -- Game 9 vs. Tennessee State (PDF)
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – After a tough week on the road, the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team is ready to get back in action in front of their home fans. The Golden Eagles will get that opportunity on Saturday as they host Tennessee State.
Tipoff against the Lady Tigers is scheduled for 5 p.m. Roger Ealey will provide the radio call on 106.1 The Eagle, while Dylan Vazzano and Michael Cooper will cover the game via streaming on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Tennessee State, under the direction of first-year head coach Ty Evans, has had a rough go of it so far, posting a 0-8 record, 0-6 in the Ohio Valley. Despite hosting three players who are averaging double figures, the Lady Tigers have only had one game this season that ended in a single-digit result with an 88-83 loss to Georgia State in overtime.
TSU is averaging a 27.6-point margin of defeat, but it escalates to 32.7 in league play alone, with a 48-point defeat at Belmont, 41 to UT Martin and 34 at Southeast Missouri.
Yet that also makes the Tennessee State contest a dangerous one as the Lady Tigers will be looking for every opportunity to break that streak and get some momentum building as they head toward the midpoint of the campaign.
Senior Taylor Roberts, through just four games of action this season, is the team's leading scorer, posting a 16.5-point average. She started the first three games of the season, but has only played in one since, coming off the bench against Southeast Missouri on Jan. 9.
Senior Andreana Wrister is up next, averaging 13.4 points per outing, while senior Jaden Wrightsell is averaging 11.4 points and 8.9 rebounds.
As a team, TSU is averaging 48.9 points a night, but the more staggering number is 169 turnovers on the year, an average of 21.1 per game. However, even though the Lady Tigers have five seniors on the squad, they also have a fairly young squad as well with six freshmen among their ranks.
The Golden Eagles have a 60-14 record in the all-time series, winning the last five meetings and nine of the last 10. Tech head coach Kim Rosamond has only lost once to TSU, a 76-66 defeat in the Gentry Center in January 2018.
Tech, meanwhile, is coming off of two losses on the road last week, falling by three to Morehead State before an eight-point loss at Eastern Kentucky. The Golden Eagles were originally slated to play Belmont on Thursday night, but with the Bruins under COVID protocols, the game was postponed until February 23.
Kesha Brady leads Tech (4-4, 2-3 OVC) in scoring with 15.3 points a game, while Mackenzie Coleman, who needs 34 points to become the third 1,000-point scorer on this year's squad with Brady and Jordan Brock and 33rd in program history, is averaging 12.4 points a night. Anna Jones is averaging a team-high 7.0 rebounds and 10.9 points an outing.
As a team, Tech is averaging 67.8 points and 34.8 rebounds, allowing 68.5 points per game, shooting .397 from the field, .285 from 3-point range and .744 from the free-throw line. In contrast, TSU is allowing 76.5 points, while averaging 34.5 rebounds and shooting .315 from the field, .180 from beyond the arc and .644 at the charity stripe.
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Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information