MARTIN, Tenn. – With the final week of the Ohio Valley Conference season this week, the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team controls its destiny when it comes to the chase for the double-bye in next week's tournament in Evansville.

 

Victories as the Golden Eagles head to UT Martin on Thursday and Little Rock will certainly go a long way into wrapping up the later start in the tournament.

 

Tech takes on the Skyhawks on Thursday night, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Elam Center. Dylan Vazzano will have the call on 106.1 The Eagle, while the game will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).

 

It's been a long time since the two teams squared off – December 30, to be exact – and it almost feels like a completely different season. The Skyhawks have won their last three games, claiming a 16-point win over Morehead State, a nine-point win at Lindenwood and a three-point win over Southeast Missouri. Before that, UTM had lost two straight with a 71-61 loss to Western Illinois and a 73-67 loss to Southern Indiana.

 

When the two teams squared off before the calendar turned to 2024, the Skyhawks surged late, outscoring the Golden Eagles 21-11 in the fourth quarter to take the 67-58 victory in the Eblen Center. Maaliya Owens led Tech with 14 points, while Reagan Hurst scored 12 and Anna Walker had 11.

 

Kenley McCarn led UTM with 20 points, Anaya Brown scored 16, while Lexi Rubel had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

 

The Skyhawks opened the four quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 53-47 lead. After Walker tied the game at 53-all with just under four minutes remaining, Tech just scored five points in the remainder of the contest as the Golden Eagles were 4-for-16 from the floor in the final 10 minutes.

 

As a team, the Skyhawks are averaging 64.3 points on offense and allowing 63.7 on defense per game. UTM is shooting .439 from the floor, .349 from 3-point range (averaging 5.9 3-pointers per game) and .772 at the free-throw line (averaging 12.6 made free throws per game).

 

McCarn leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game. Brown averages 15.1 points, while also leading the squad in rebounding at 8.7 rebounds per game. Rubel has 103 assists and 45 steals, while Brown leads the team with 48 blocks.

 

Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles look to continue its current winning streak, now at six games – the longest since starting the OVC 8-0 in the 2019-20 campaign. Across the current streak, the Golden Eagles are averaging 79.3 points while allowing 66.2. Tech is hitting an average of 8.2 3-pointers and 14.2 free throws a game. Four Golden Eagles – Owens (18.5), Walker (12.3), Peyton Carter (11.8) and Reghan Grimes (10.2) – are averaging double-digit scoring during the streak.

 

Following Thursday's contest, Tech will close out the regular season out Saturday at Little Rock before the OVC Tournament begins next week in Evansville.