COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It has been a rocky start to the new year for the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team, but the Golden Eagles have an opportunity to turn things around beginning this Thursday with a game against Austin Peay. The game is the first of four consecutive home contests for TTU, which has posted a 5-1 mark at the Eblen Center this season.
The Golden Eagles (7-10, 2-5 OVC) are just 1-5 since the calendar turned to 2010 with four of those six games on the road. Tech's lone victory was a promising one in front of the hometown fans as the Golden Eagles handed previously unbeaten Eastern Kentucky its first conference loss by a 28-point margin.
Since that time, Tech has dropped a pair of close games on the road as the team fell at UT Martin last Thursday and Murray State on Saturday.
This Thursday's game against Austin Peay could be decided at the free throw stripe where the Lady Govs lead the OVC with a team free throw percentage of 75.2 percent during conference play. Furthermore, the Golden Eagles, who have been whistled for 79 fouls in their past three games combined, find themselves near the bottom of the conference in personal fouls per game.
On the flip side, Tech is shooting 59.1 percent from the line as a team, led by freshman Kellie Cook who ranks second in the OVC at 88.9 percent.
Austin Peay (6-12, 5-2 OVCO enters the match-up on a three-game winning streak after home wins over UT Martin, Murray State and Tennessee State. Picked to finished second in the OVC Preseason Poll, the Lady Govs finished its non-conference schedule with a 1-10 mark but have picked up their level of play during their OVC schedule with a 5-2 mark. APSU currently sits in fourth place in the conference.
The Lady Govs are led by a pair of Preseason All-OVC selections in Ashley Herring and Nicole Jamen. Herring averages a team-best 12.9 points per game while shooting 82.0 percent from the free throw line. Jamen is second on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per contest and leads the team in rebounding at 7.8 boards per game.
For the Golden Eagles, freshman Kylie Cook has come on strong over the past four games. The forward is averaging 14.3 points per game during that span and has hit at last three 3-pointers in each of those contests. Not only has Cook been producing more points of late, but she has also improved her efficiency, moving into the top-10 in the OVC in 3-point field goal percentage at 37.0 percent.
Cook and the Golden Eagles tip-off against Austin Peay beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Eblen Center. Tickets are still available and can by purchased by visiting or calling the Tennessee Tech Ticket Office at 372-3940.
Fans can hear all the action for free on Teamline either online or on the phone. The broadcast can be accessed through Tennessee Tech's athletic Web site, TTUsports.com, or fans can call 1-800-846-4700 and enter the team code 0654 to catch all the action. TTUsports.com will also have live stats for the game, while Web streaming can be accessed through ovcsports.tv.
