Posted: Jan 24, 2018
By Layne Weitzel, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech closes the month of January back at home in the Hooper Eblen Center with a pair of teams it has not yet played this season.
Tech tips off with Southeast Missouri on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m. CT and UT Martin on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m. CT.
COMING UP
The Golden Eagles will face both Southeast Missouri and UT Martin just once this season and hold home-court advantage for both games.
Tech last met SEMO in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, last season in its OVC opener, taking a 74-63 win. The team was aided by a 30-point, 12-rebound effort from then-junior Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson, which marked her first double-double of her career and second 30-point game of the 2016-17 season. Freshman Akia Harris was also successful offensively in her first-ever conference game, tying a career-high of 12 points. Tech was solid on defense, holding SEMO 12 points under its season scoring average.
To kick off February, Tech also grabbed the 81-71 win over UT Martin in Cookeville to snap the Skyhawks' nine-game winning streak in the 67-game series. The Golden Eagles shot over 55 percent from the field, out-rebounded UT Martin 33-26 and were perfect in all 16 free-throw attempts.
Tech has faced SEMO less frequently than most of the other Ohio Valley Conference members, as the Redhawks joined the league in 1991. The Golden Eagles hold a 32-20 advantage in the all-time series, including a record of 17-6 in Cookeville.
Tech has also taken 45 wins in its history with UT Martin, while the Skyhawks have 22. Tech is 19-3 at home.
PROMOTIONS vs. Southeast Missouri
- Academic Excellence Night – Honor roll students will receive a ticket voucher from their school system for free admission to the game.
PROMOTIONS vs. UT Martin
- Gold Rush – Fans are encouraged to dress in gold for the annual Tech Gold Rush game.
LAST TIME OUT
Tech ended up on the wrong end of two tight games last week in Kentucky.
Tech trailed 53-50 with 10 seconds remaining in the game at Eastern Kentucky but rebounded a missed Colonel free throw to gain possession. Freshman Jordan Brock received the ball and hit a game-tying 3-pointer with two seconds left, but EKU converted a last-second layup to get the buzzer-beating 55-53 win.
The Golden Eagles got 10 points from their bench players, including eight from redshirt sophomore post Anacia Wilkinson. Wilkinson appeared in her first game since Feb. 25, 2017 after spending the first 17 games of the 2017-18 season finishing up her recovery from a May 2017 knee surgery. Wilkinson also collected three rebounds and tied a career-high of four blocks.
Tech totaled a season-high 52 rebounds and got a double-double each from MacKenzie Coleman (her third of the season) and Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson (her first of the season) at Morehead State, but the hosting Eagles completed a late comeback to steal away the game by a score of 53-51. Hickson led all players with 15 rebounds, a new career-best.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
vs. Southeast Missouri
Thursday, Jan. 25, 5:30 p.m. CT
Live stream: OVC Digital Network
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle
vs. UT Martin
Saturday, Jan. 27, 5:30 p.m. CT
Live stream: OVC Digital Network
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
Southeast Missouri Redhawks (9-11, 4-4 OVC)
- 2016-17 record: 13-17, 7-9 Ohio Valley Conference (tied for 6th in the regular season; lost to top-seeded Belmont 79-59 in the tournament first round)
- Notables: Tech will work to defend SEMO senior forward Deja Jones, who leads the OVC as the conference's most efficient shooter. Jones has taken just 91 shots in her 19 games but has made 62 of them, giving her a field goal percentage of 68.1. In OVC play alone, she ranks second in the league with a percentage of 64.4… Junior guard Adrianna Murphy ranks 33rd in the country in steals, averaging 2.8 per game, and 44th in assists, averaging 5.3 per game. This season, Murphy has had 13 games with five or more assists and 11 games with three or more steals. As a team, SEMO is second in the OVC with 9.7 steals per game but is last in assists, totaling just 11.1 per game.
UT Martin Skyhawks (8-12, 4-4 OVC)
- 2016-17 record: 12-19, 8-8 Ohio Valley Conference (tied for 4th in the regular season; lost to top-seeded Belmont 83-62 in the tournament semifinals)
- Notables: The Skyhawks are also coming off a buzzer-beating loss at SIUE, in which the Cougars hit a last-second 3-pointer to take the win. UT Martin had tied the game with four seconds left off a three-pointer from graduate post Ashton Feldhaus… UT Martin is the third-highest scoring team in the OVC (averaging 72.4 points per game), thanks to its strengths across all three scoring statistical categories. The Skyhawks rank first in the conference in free throw percentage (74.9), second in field goal percentage (43.5) and second in 3-point percentage (35.6).
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Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
