By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
DAYTONA, Fla. -- While everyone else is settling in with their Thanksgiving feasts, the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team is hard at work getting ready for its action this weekend in the Daytona Beach Classic.
The Golden Eagles have a challenge ahead as Tech faces the first of two Southeastern Conference opponents on the season as it takes on Missouri on Friday night, then takes on nearby Stetson on Saturday afternoon.
Roger Ealey will have the call on 106.1 The Eagle, while the game will be streamed live via FloSports (subscription required).
Tech (0-3) is looking for its first win of the season as it continues a difficult pre-conference slate. The Golden Eagles opened the season with a 97-64 loss at Ball State, then came home to a 70-45 defeat to Chattanooga in their only home outing so far this season. Tech had a tough battle Saturday against Alabama A&M, falling 62-56 in overtime.
It Is not the first time the Golden Eagles have faced either team, but it has been a while. Tech last saw Missouri in 1987 with the Tigers topping the Golden Eaglettes 88-75. Tech Hall of Famer Melinda Clayton Hatfield led Tech with 24 points and eight boards as four players scored in double figures, including 14 for Renay Adams and 10 each for Arnetta Peterson and Adrienn Black. Tracy Ellis led Missouri with 24 points, including a 14-for-14 effort at the free-throw line.
Tech is 0-3 against Missouri all-time.
In the last outing against Stetson, the Golden Eaglettes claimed the Krystal Holiday Classic title on their home court in December 1995, topping the Hatters 60-56 as Amber Clark scored 15 points, Terrance Oglesby had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Sheri Lewis had 12 points.
The Golden Eagles are 2-0 all-time against Stetson.
This year's Missouri squad enters Friday's game with a 4-1 record, opening the season with a 72-61 victory over Belmont and a 98-57 win against Indiana State. After falling 93-85 at Saint Louis, the Tigers took down North Alabama 83-72 and Ohio Valley Conference opponent Southern Indiana 96-62 on Monday to come into the contest with back-to-back wins.
Missouri is averaging 86.8 points a game with an allowance of 69.0. The Tigers shoot .491 from the floor, .421 from 3-point range and .746 from the line. They are presently outrebounding their opponents by an average of 45.4 to 33.6.
The Tigers have five players averaging double-figure scoring through the first five contests, led by Ashton Judd with a 19.6-point average. Hayley Frank (17.0 ppg), Grace Slaughter (13.4 ppg), Mama Dembele (10.8 ppg) and Abbey Schreake (10.6 ppg) are the others in double digits. Rebounds are pretty balanced with Judd (7.0 rpg) and Frank (7.2 apg) leading the way, while Dembele has 40 assists and 20 steals.
Missouri can also drain 3-pointers – the Tigers are averaging 10.6 made 3-pointers a game.
Stetson enters the game with a 1-4 record, dropping the first three games of the season with a 68-57 loss at Tulane, 67-55 loss at South Florida and a 59-54 loss at High Point. In their home opener, the Hatters topped Iona 71-62, but fell Monday night at Florida Atlantic 50-39.
The Hatters average 55.2 points per game and allow 61.2, shooting .330 from the field, .247 from long-range with an average of 4.4 3-pointers per game, and .725 from the charity stripe.
Jamiya Turner leads Stetson in scoring with 12.2 points per game, while Jaelyn Talley averages a team-high 8.4 rebounds a game.
Tech, meanwhile, is averaging 55.0 points a game, allowing 76.3. The Golden Eagles are shooting .392 from the field, .364 from 3-point range with 5.3 long-range shots on average, and shooting .649 from the free-throw line.
The Golden Eagles currently have three players scoring in double figures, led by Maaliya Owens with a 12.0-point average, Vanderbilt transfer Yaubryon Chambers with 11.7 ppg and Reagan Hurst exactly at 10.0. Owens (4.7 rpg) and Reghan Grimes (4.3 rpg) lead Tech on the glass.
Tech will return home next Wednesday as it hosts Lincoln Memorial.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
