By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – As the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team opens the home slate on Wednesday night in the Hooper Eblen Center, it'll be a cause for celebration.
Before the start of Wednesday's 6 p.m. contest against Chattanooga, the Golden Eagles will unveil their latest adornment to the Hoop as the 2022-23 Ohio Valley Conference championship banner is unveiled to recognize their tournament championship and 28th all-time in the program's history.
Roger Ealey and Frank Harrell will have the call on 106.1 The Eagle, while Dylan Vazzano and Steve Smith will narrate the action on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Fans will have the opportunity to receive a rally towel commemorating the championship run, while team championship shirts will be thrown into the stands during the contest to lucky fans. The game is also First Horizon Bank Poster Night with 2023-24 schedule posters available to fans.
In addition to the championship celebration, graduate guard Maaliya Owens will be recognized for becoming the 35th Golden Eagle player in program history to reach 1,000 career points – hitting the milestone in Tech's OVC tournament championship game against Little Rock – as well as setting a new program single-season record in 3-pointers made as she hit her 92nd 3-pointer of the campaign against Indiana.
Fans will also have an opportunity to meet and get autographs from their favorite Golden Eagle players after the game.
The Tech squad will be on the Eblen Center court for the first time in the regular season after a tough outing last Monday at Ball State as the Golden Eagles fell 97-64 in the season opener. Facing a buzzsaw of a defense, led by Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year Nyla Hampton, the Golden Eagles were forced into 26 turnovers.
Vanderbilt transfer Yaubryon Chambers scored 13 points to lead the Golden Eagles off the bench, while Kiera Hill and Owens each had 11 and Peyton Carter 10.
Chattanooga comes into the game with a 2-1 record with an 88-32 victory over King University to open the season, then topping Austin Peay 57-52 in Clarksville on Friday. The Mocs fell victim to Marshall on Sunday 79-74.
Of course, there is a familiar face on the lineup for Chattanooga as Golden Eagle point guard Jada Guinn transferred to the Mocs' roster through the portal and put up solid numbers as she is second on the team in scoring with a 16.0-point average, dishing out 10 assists and pulling down 11 rebounds.
She trails only Raven Thompson statistically as the Moc sophomore forward leads the team with a 17.7-point and 6.7-rebound average.
Tech head coach Kim Rosamond issued a challenge to fans to get 2,800 fans in the Eblen Center seats for the opener – 2,800 fans for 28 all-time championships.
Discounted tickets for the game are available as Tennessee Tech Athletics is holding a food drive for the three basketball games this week, including Tuesday's game featuring the Golden Eagle men against Lipscomb, Wednesday against Chattanooga and Thursday's game between the Tech men and Midway. Fans can bring three non-perishable food items and receive $5 admission to the games.
Tickets are available now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Eblen Center ticket office or go online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
