By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (9-15, 6-5 OVC) will continue OVC matchups with a Wednesday 11 a.m. game at Tennessee State (9-12, 4-7 OVC).
The Golden Eagles topped the Lady Tigers earlier this season 64-59 in the Eblen Center. Brooks led the Golden Eagles with 12 points and 10 rebounds, claiming her fourth career double-double. Hickson tallied a team-high 15 points for Tech, adding six boards and three steals to her performance. Teammates Akia Harris and Hannah Goolsby also scored in double-figures for the Golden Eagles; Harris totaling 11 points and Goolsby racking up 13. Diamond Beatty and Tia Wooten led the Lady Tigers, each totaling 15 points in the matchup. Wooten grabbed six off the glass for TSU, while Beatty hit 5-of-10 from downtown and added three steals to her performance.
As a team, Tech shot 41.1 percent from the field, 11.1 percent from the three-point range, and 76.2 percent from the free throw line while Tennessee State shot 40.7 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc, and 50 percent from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles outrebounded the Lady Tigers by a 38-35 margin and forced 20 TSU turnovers while allowing only 19.
With the victory over the Lady Tigers earlier this season, the Golden Eagles continue to lead in the series by a 54-13 margin with Tech winning the last three matchups.
Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson leads the Golden Eagles averaging 16.7 points per game. She shoots 43 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from the three-point range, and 71.3 percent from the free throw line. Hickson averages 4.8 rebounds per contest while totaling 38 assists and 26 steals on the season.
Treyvonna "Trey" Brooks is another key player on the Tech lineup. Brooks leads the Golden Eagles off the glass averaging 6.7 rebounds per game. She also stands as Tech's second leading scorer with 10.6 points per contest. Brooks shoots a team-best 50.9 percent from the floor, 34.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 61.5 percent from the charity stripe. She has also tallied 46 assists, 30 blocks, and 28 steals to prove herself as an all-around player on the court.
Freshman Akia Harris is a go-to player on the Golden Eagle lineup. Harris averages 8.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, while tallying a team-best 100 assists on the year. She also leads Tech in steals with 33 on the season while shooting 31.2 percent from the field, 28.1 percent from downtown, and 68.9 percent from the free throw line.
Jayda Johnson leads Tennessee State averaging 13.2 points per game. She shoots 45.5 percent from the floor and 52.9 percent from the charity stripe while grabbing 6.0 boards per contest. Johnson rounds out her solid performance thus far this season recording 45 assists, 34 steals, and 13 blocks.
Two other Lady Tigers average double-figures this year: I'mani Davis (10.5 ppg) and Olivia Jones (10.4 ppg).
Davis leads TSU's efforts off the glass averaging 7.6 rebounds per contest. Davis shoots 42.7 percent from the floor and 70.6 from the free throw line. She has totaled 46 assists, 37 steals, and 11 blocks on the year.
Jones averages 6.1 boards per contest while shooting 46.8 percent from the floor and 59 percent from the charity stripe.
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 Thomas Corhern
