COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Coming off a pivotal come-from-behind win over Tennessee State on Monday, the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team will attempt to earn back-to-back road victories for the first time this season when the Golden Eagles travel to Clarksville for their penultimate OVC contest against Austin Peay.
Currently, Tech sports a 7-9 record in conference play and 12-14 mark overall following a three-game winning streak, TTU's second longest of the season. The Golden Eagles are in sixth place in the OVC but just two-and-a-half games separate Tech from both third place and 10th place, so the team's final two conference games will greatly affect where the Golden Eagles finish in the regular season standings.
Austin Peay is 9-6 in the league and 10-16 overall. The Lady Govs defeated visiting Jacksonville State, 75-71, on Thursday evening to maintain their spot in third place in the OVC. APSU started its conference schedule 7-2 but has lost three of five over the past three weeks
The two teams squared off earlier this year in Cookeville as the Golden Eagles secured a, 77-56, victory. In that contest, sophomore Tacarra Hayes scored a then-career-high 39 points, the most by a guard in Tennessee Tech history.
Hayes bettered that mark on Monday at Tennessee State as she poured in 41 points, tied for the eighth most in a single game in school history. Hayes upped her scoring average to 18.2 points per game in conference play, which is second in the league and just 0.2 points per game behind the OVC scoring leader, Chynna Bozeman of Morehead State.
In addition to her scoring, Hayes has stuffed the stat sheet in nearly every category this season. Hayes, a Lebanon, Ky., native, also ranks in the top-10 in the OVC in steals (third; 1.9 per game), assists (fourth; 4.8 per game), rebounding (ninth; 6.6 per game) and field goal percentage (ninth; 43.9 percent).
For Austin Peay, Ashley Herring has been the offensive catalyst, averaging 15.0 points per game in conference play. Nicole Jamen is nearly averaging a double-double for the Lady Govs with 11.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per league game.
The Tennessee Tech and Austin Peay rivalry has a vast history - and one that has traditionally favored the Golden Eagles. Tech has an advantage in the all-time series against Austin Peay with a 68-14 record in 82 meetings between the two schools. TTU has played APSU the second-most of any opponent in its history. The only team Tech has played more is Middle Tennessee State (85 meetings).
Saturday's game is scheduled for a 5:15 p.m. tip-off at the Dave Aaron Arena. It can be heard in its entirety locally in Cookeville on AM 1400 WHUB or through Teamline by dialing 1-800-846-4700 and entering TTU's team code (0654) or by visiting teamline.cc. Roger Ealey will call the game, beginning at 5 p.m. with the pregame show.
Live stats will be available through Austin Peay's athletics Web site, apsugovernors.com, and the game will be Web streamed on ovcsports.tv.
Following Saturday's game, Tech has just two regular season games remaining, both of which will be played at the Eblen Center. The Golden Eagles take on SIU-Edwardsville on Thursday before wrapping up the regular season against Jacksonville State on Saturday. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit or call the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center at (931) 372-3940 or visit TTUsports.com.
