By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech women's basketball (6-12, 3-2 OVC) will close out their four-game homestand on Wednesday when they play host to Tennessee State (7-8, 2-3 OVC) in a 6 p.m. contest at the Hooper Eblen Center.
This will be the 67th meeting between the Golden Eagles and Tigers. Tech currently holds the 53-13 advantage in the series, owning a 24-5 record for game played in Cookeville. The Golden Eagles are also on a two-game winning streak over the Tigers, last defeating TSU in the 2015-16 season, 64-56, on the Tiger's home court.
Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson leads the Golden Eagles averaging 16.1 points per game, which ranks third amongst OVC players. Hickson shoots 42.6 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from the three-point range, and 85.2 percent from the free throw line (fourth best mark in the OVC). She averages 3.8 boards per contest while gathering 25 assists and 17 steals on the year.
Treyvonna "Trey" Brooks is another key player on the Golden Eagle lineup. Brooks leads Tech off the glass averaging 6.8 rebounds per game, while standing as the second leader in scorer with 10.2 points per contest. Brooks also leads the Golden Eagles with a 49.4 field goal percentage, which is is the seventh best mark in the OVC. She is second on the team in steals (23) and blocks (23). Brooks' 3.2 offensive boards per game ranks her tied at first in the OVC.
Akia Harris is also making a name for herself on the Purple and Gold squad. The 5-7 freshman leads Tech in assists with 84 thus far this season, while standing as the Golden Eagle's third leading scorer averaging 8.2 points per game. Harris shoots 30.1 percent from the floor, 28.3 percent from downtown, and 66 percent from the charity stripe. She leads Tech in steals with 27 on the year, while averaging 3.3 rebounds per game. Harris' 4.7 assists per game ranks fourth in the OVC, while her 1.7 assist/turnover ratio marks her fifth.
Jayda Johnson leads Tennessee State averaging 14.1 point per game. Johnson is the Tiger's third leader off the glass averaging 6.2 rebounds per game. Johnson shoots 46.4 percent from the field, 20 percent from the three-point range, and 54.2 percent from the free throw line. She leads TSU in assists (33) and steals (30) this season, while standing as the third leader in blocks (8).
Olivia Jones and I'mani Davis are two other players to watch on the Tiger roster. Jones is the second leading scorer (12.6 ppg) and rebounder (7.1 rpg) on the TSU squad. She shoots a team-best 51.5 percent from the field, while tallying 9 assists and 19 steals thus far this season.
Davis is the Tiger's leader in rebounds averaging 7.4 boards per game. She is also TSU's third leading scorer averaging 11.2 points per contest. Davis shoots 44.3 percent from the floor, 21.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 64.8 percent from the charity stripe. She has gathered 29 assists and 23 steals thus far this year, while putting up nine blocks for Tennessee State.
As a team, the Golden Eagles are shooting 38.7 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from the three-point range, and 68.8 percent from the free throw line while the Tigers shoot 39.5 percent from the floor, 31 percent from downtown, and 64.1 percent from the charity stripe. Tech averages 37.7 rebounds and 17.3 turnovers per contest to TSU's 39.5 boards and 20.6 turnovers per game.
You can follow the Golden Eagles online on the TTU Sports and Tennessee Tech Women's Basketball Facebook pages or on Twitter at @TTUGoldenEagles and @TTUWBB.
Photo by Jim Dillon
