By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—With basketball season just over one week away, the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team will put in some extra preparation for the 2106-17 year with an exhibition matchup versus North Alabama on Monday at 6 p.m. in the Hooper Eblen Center.
The contest will provide Golden Eagles fans the first look at the Purple and Gold squad; under the direction of first-year head coach Kim Rosamond. The Tech team will return nine players from last year's roster, while welcoming two true freshmen to the lineup.
Top returners for the Golden Eagles will be senior Hannah Goolsby and junior Yaktavia Hickson. With the loss of former Tech standout Samaria Howard, Goolsby will return to the Golden Eagle roster as their top scorer. In the 2015-16 year, Goolsby averaged 8.6 points per game while shooting 32.7 percent from the field and 32.0 percent from the three-point range. Goolsby shot 72.7 percent from the line and led Tech in assists with 61 on the year.
Hickson rejoins the Golden Eagles as another key scorer from last season. Hickson averaged 8.1 points per game in the 2015-16 year, while leading the Golden Eagles in free throws, connecting on 42-of-49 from the charity stripe to shoot 85.7 percent on the season and land her a place in the Tech record books for free throw percentage in a season. Hickson also shot 38.9 percent from the floor and 32.2 percent from downtown, and is expected to be a key scorer in the upcoming 2016-17 season. Hickson also notched 25 steals, 66 boards, and 57 assists on the 2015-16 year.
A new face on the Golden Eagle team, and player to watch will be Akia Harris. Harris joins the Tennessee Tech family after playing her senior year at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy and prior to that, four years (eighth grade to junior seasons) at the Girls Preparatory School (GPS). A native of Chattanooga, Tenn., Harris tallied 1,075 career points and scored a career-best 35 points against Northwest Whitfield in November of 2014. Harris was ranked 10th on the Rick Bolus Tennessee players list as a sophomore and was selected by the Chattanooga Times-Free Press to the first-team Best of Preps her freshman and sophomore years.
Coach Rosamond will also bring an exciting new energy to the floor this year. Rosamond comes to Tennessee Tech after serving for nine years as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt University. The Ole Miss alumnus is eager to bring the Golden Eagle squad back to championship level, as she stresses the importance of being successful in everything the players do both on and off the court.
You can follow the Golden Eagles all year long online on the TTU Sports and Tennessee Tech Women's Basketball Facebook pages or on Twitter at @TTUGoldenEagles and @TTUWBB.
You can purchase season and game tickets on TTUsports.com or by calling 931-372-3940.
Photo by Will Fagan
