By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE – After a thrilling win Saturday, the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team will be back in action on Thursday as they head to the Gentry Center to take on Tennessee State.
Tipoff for the game is 5 pm. Roger Ealey will have the game on 106.1 The Eagle, while the contest will also be streamed on ESPN+. As of this writing, Thursday's games are still on as scheduled, while snow and freezing rain are in the forecast. Schedule updates will be available on TTUsports.com and the team's social media accounts if any changes are made.
The Golden Eagles are 64-16 all-time against Tennessee State and have won nine of the last 11 meetings, but those two losses have come in the Gentry Center in the last two seasons as the Lady Tigers won 96-93 in overtime in the 2021-22 campaign, then 81-72 last season.
In that last meeting, Tennessee State scored 56 points in the second half alone, including 34 in the fourth quarter to come away with the victory. Erica Haynes-Overton scored 21, while Sierra McCullough scored 19 and Gia Adams picked up 15, and TSU also outrebounded the Golden Eagles 48-29.
All three of those players that put up big numbers for the Lady Tigers are gone this time around with Tennessee State returning just one starter and four players from that last contest.
Leading the way for the Lady Tigers is Sanaa' St. Andre, the reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player and Newcomer of the Week. The Kansas City transfer is averaging 13.1 points and 2.3 rebounds, while leading the team in steals with 29. She is shooting .366 from the field, .213 from 3-point range and .810 at the free-throw line.
Saniah Parker is the other TSU player averaging double-digits in scoring, landing at exactly 10.0 points a game following Saturday's action.
As a team, TSU (5-10, 2-3 OVC) is averaging 60.1 points while allowing 70.0. The team is shooting .376 from the field, .211 from 3-point range with just 41 total 3-pointers made and .709 from the line. The Lady Tigers average 2.7 3-pointers and 13.3 free throws a game.
After starting the season 3-7 – the three victories against non-Division I competition – TSU has opened up league play with a 2-3 record, claiming an 83-78 victory over Little Rock and an 83-80 win against Lindenwood in its last outing.
Meanwhile, Tech (7-9, 2-3 OVC) have won two of its last three games, defeating Morehead State 79-56 on the road and taking down Southeast Missouri this past Saturday 76-65.
Maaliya Owens leads the Golden Eales in scoring (15.0 ppg) and assists (44), while knocking down seven more 3-pointers than Tennessee State has for the season. Reghan Grimes is averaging 9.1 points, while Reagan Hurst is averaging 8.2 On the glass, Grimes is leading the team in rebounding with a 5.1 mark, while Peyton Carter (4.1) and Anna Walker (4.0) are next on the chart.
As a team, Tech is averaging 68.0 points and allowing 64.5 points. The team is shooting .411 from the field, .331 from beyond-the-arc and .748 at the free-throw line, while averaging 7.2 3-pointers and 13.2 free-throws made per game.
Following Thursday's action, the Golden Eagles will then continue their road trip as they head to Eastern Illinois and SIUE next week before returning home to take on Southern Indiana to open up February action at the Hooper Eblen Center.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Jim Dillon
