Posted: Jan 20, 2023
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – With Thursday's loss to Little Rock in the rear-view mirror, the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team gets back in action on Saturday looking to build back momentum in the Ohio Valley Conference race.
The Golden Eagles will get that chance on Saturday as they take on a Southeast Missouri team on a hot streak.
Tipoff from the Show Me Center is set for 2 p.m. Dylan Vazzano will have the call on 106.1 The Eagle, while the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (subscription required).
The Golden Eagles (11-6, 5-2 OVC) fell into third place with the 61-45 loss to the Trojans and now aim to keep up with Eastern Illinois (15-3, 7-0 OVC) and Little Rock (9-9, 6-1 OVC) at the top of the standings. SIUE, who Tech will face at home on Thursday in a 3 p.m. matinee, is a game back of the Golden Eagles at 4-3 in the conference.
After SIUE, Southern Indiana, SEMO and UT Martin are all square at 3-4 in the conference, while Tennessee State and Morehead State stand at 2-5. Lindenwood is still looking for its first OVC win with an 0-7 mark.
The Redhawks (8-10, 3-4 in the OVC) started off 0-4 in the conference, dropping a 68-54 decision at Southern Indiana, then fell 76-61 to SIUE, 77-58 to UT Martin and 65-45 to Little Rock. Just like the Golden Eagles hope to do Saturday, SEMO rebounded from its loss in Arkansas in a big way with a 68-45 win over Lindenwood, then a 10-point, 87-77 decision at Morehead State.
On Thursday night, the Redhawks staved off UT Martin as Kori Tomlin hit a baseline jumper with under a second remaining to give SEMO the 56-64 victory. The Redhawks rallied from a 29-22 halftime deficit by outscoring the Skyhawks 34-25 in the second half.
As a team, SEMO is averaging 58.2 points a game, while allowing 64.2. The team is shooting .367 from the field, .310 from long-range and .686 at the free-throw line. SEMO is also averaging 4.9 3-pointers, 12.3 free throws, 10.4 steals and 3.2 blocks per game.
Kennedi Watkins leads the Redhawks in scoring (8.8 ppg) and rebounding (4.7 rpg), while Kiyley Flowers leads the team in assists (2.6 apg).
Tech, meanwhile, is looking to avoid back-to-back OVC losses for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign when the Golden Eagles fell in consecutive games to Belmont. Tech has still won three of its last five games with a trio of victories over UT Martin, Morehead State and Tennessee State sandwiched by defeats from Eastern Illinois and Little Rock.
Maaliya Owens leads the Golden Eagles in scoring with a 13.4-point average, while Reghan Grimes has a team-best 6.1-rebound average and Jada Guinn leads the team in assists with 3.6 per game.
As a team, Tech is averaging 67.0 points a game and allowing 63.0. The Golden Eagles are shooting .420 from the field, .317 from 3-point range and .743 from the free-throw line. Tech is averaging 6.1 3-pointers, 11.9 free throws, 14.9 assists, 7.9 steals and 2.6 blocks per game.
Following Saturday's contest, Tech returns home to take on SIUE on Thursday for the 3 p.m. We Back Pat contest, then will see Little Rock come to the Eblen Center next Saturday.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or visit TTUsports.com.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information