By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Saturday is the final day of the regular season for the Ohio Valley Conference with the postseason tournament beginning on Wednesday.
As Tennessee Tech enters the final contest of the regular season, the Golden Eagles are trying to secure the last bye in the field. Southern Indiana already has the top seed wrapped up. A UT Martin will give the Skyhawks the No. 2 seed and the other double-bye – however, a UTM loss and a Little Rock win over Tech on Saturday will put the Trojans in the No. 2-spot.
If the Golden Eagles win and UT Martin wins, Tech will earn the No. 4-seed, losing the tiebreaker to Eastern Illinois. If Tech wins and UT Martin loses, the Skyhawks will win the No. 2-seed through the tiebreaker with Eastern Illinois and the Golden Eagles. The Panthers will be the No. 3-seed, while Tech will be the No. 4-seed.
In the event that the Golden Eagles fall to the Trojans and Morehead State defeats Lindenwood, MSU will take the No. 5-seed and Tech will fall to No. 6. If Morehead State loses to the Lions, Tech will be the No. 5-seed and Morehead State will take sixth.
With the double-bye out of the equation for the Golden Eagles following Thursday's loss at UT Martin, Tech has to win Saturday to avoid having to play in the tournament's first round.
Tipoff for Saturday's game in Little Rock is at 1 p.m. Dylan Vazzano will have the call on 106.1 The Eagle, while the game will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).
The less said about Thursday's contest against UT Martin, the better for the Golden Eagles as Tech saw its six-game winning streak come to a close and Tech score its fewest points this season.
However, that game is now in the rear-view mirror as the focus is on finishing the regular-season strong and getting momentum for the tournament.
It's been a little over two months since Tech and Little Rock faced off as the two teams faced each other to open OVC play. It's kind of fitting that the two teams are closing out league play against each other. Back on December 28, Little Rock escaped the Eblen Center with a two-point, 59-57 victory.
In that game, Little Rock used only seven players in the lineup with three of them scoring in double-figures with Leilani Wimbish-Gay scoring 17 points, Faith Lee 16 and Jayla Brooks 10. The Trojans outscored Tech 14-8 in the first quarter, but the Golden Eagles outscored Little Rock 15-13 in the second and fourth quarters. Little Rock led by as many as 13 points midway through the third quarter before Tech came surging back.
Maaliya Owens led Tech with 20 points, while Yaubryon Chambers scored 10.
The Trojans dominated in the paint, outscoring the Golden Eagles 36-18, but Tech led on the boards 37-27.
As a team, Little Rock (11-17, 10-7 OVC) is averaging 55.3 points and allowing 60.6 points a game with Faith Lee the only player averaging double-digit scoring at 14.6 points a game. The Trojans are averaging 30.3 rebounds with Jaiyah Harris-Smith averaging a team-best 4.4 rebounds per games. Harris-Smith also has 108 assists, while Brooks has 44 steals and Wimbish-Gay 18 blocks.
Little Rock is averaging 3.1 3-pointers and 9.8 made free throws a game.
The Golden Eagles (15-13, 10-7 OVC) are averaging 69.6 points on offense, 66.2 on defense. Maaliya Owens is averaging 15.1 points a game, while Reghan Grimes is averaging 10.0 points and a team-best 5.5 rebounds per game. Peyton Carter leads the team in assists with 93, Reagan Hurst has a team-high 40 steals and Anna Walker leads the squad in blocks with 33.
Tech is averaging 7.1 3-pointers and 13.7 made free throws a game.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
