By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's pretty safe to say Little Rock had December 28th circled on their calendars since March. After all, Tennessee Tech closed out the Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Championships in Evansville with the Golden Eagles cutting down the nets after defeating to top-seeded Trojans in the title game.
With a strong defensive effort, Tech defeated the Trojans 54-46 for its first OVC crown and NCAA appearance since the 1999-2000 season after Little Rock won both regular-season meetings in their first season in the OVC.
When it came to the 2022-23 campaign, Little Rock won the first two skirmishes. Tennessee Tech won the war.
The two teams will get the chance to test each other on Thursday to open up the 2024 OVC slate. Tipoff from the Hooper Eblen Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. 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).
Little Rock (1-10) broke a 10-game losing streak to open the campaign as the Trojans defeated Duquesne 63-52 before the Christmas break for their only win of the year to date. Faith Lee led the way with 18 points, while Jayla Brooks scored 12 and Leilani Wimbish-Gay and Lamariyee Williams both adding 11. The Trojans trailed 26-25 at halftime, but outscored Duquesne 22-12 in the third quarter to provide a cushion to win the contest.
Make no mistake, however. Just because Little Rock has one just one game en route to league play, the Trojans are still very much a dangerous team. The ten games they lost? Missouri State, Kansas State, Arkansas, Alabama, Ole Miss, Central Arkansas, Auburn, Murray State, Arkansas State and Tulane. At first glance, it's already a much harder schedule than most teams in the conference have played in the pre-league slate.
While it's hard to use the non-conference games to compare, the numbers for Little Rock so far this season are deceiving. The Trojans are averaging 51.5 points of offense, while allowing 67.1 a game – that'll happen against four Southeastern Conference teams as well as a couple of Top 25 teams.
From the field, Little Rock is shooting .382 from the floor, .276 from 3-point range as they average 2.6 long-range makes per game, while shooting .641 from the free-throw line. In contrast, the opponents are shooting .450 from the field, .345 from 3-point range with an average of 6.2 made and .703 from the line.
Lee is currently Little Rock's only player averaging double-digit points at 13.3 per game, while Jaiyah Harris-Smith is averaging 8.4 points, Tia Harvey 7.7 and Brooks 7.6. Brooks leads the team in 3-pointers made with 13 of their 29 (Maaliya Owens has made 31 this season, just for comparison's sake).
Defense has been Little Rock's bread-and-butter and that is one of the areas where its statistics are still shining through. The Trojans have forced 183 turnovers to their 165 and have 76 steals to opponents' 62. Brooks has 16 steals, while Harris-Smith has 14. Opponents have out-blocked the Trojans 35-21 with Mesi Triplett deflecting a team-best six shots.
On the glass, the Trojans are getting outrebounded 37.7 to 27.4 per game as Camryn James is pulling down a team-best 4.5 rebounds per outing, while Harris-Smith is collecting 4.1.
Tech (5-6), meanwhile, has won three straight games after topping North Alabama 78-67 in its last outing and have claimed victories in five of its last seven games.
As a team, the Golden Eagles are averaging 68.4 points on offense, while allowing 65.1 points. Tech is shooting .418 from the field, .342 from long-range with an average of 7.5 makes per game, and .721 at the free-throw line. Tech is outrebounding opponents 33.5 to 30.8, while collecting more assists, blocks and steals than its opponents this season.
Owens leads the way with a 15.0-point average, while Reghan Grimes is averaging 9.5 points, Anna Walker 8.3 and Reagan Hurst 7.9. Grimes leads the team on the glass with 4.9 boards a game, whule Walker is averaging 4.3, Owens 4.2 and Peyton Carter 4.1.
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.
Photo | Jim Dillon
