By Jonathan Caudle, TTU Sports Information
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (11-4, 4-0 OVC) vs. SIUE Cougars (3-12, 1-3 OVC)
Game 16 • Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 • 5:30 p.m. (CT)
Edwardsville, Ill. • First Community Arena at the Vadalabene Center
Video Stream: ESPN+
Listen: 106.1 The Eagle (Dylan Vazzano)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Twitter Updates: @TTUWBB
Series Record: SIUE leads, 5-8 (Last: Tech L 63-61, 2/28/19)
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Tennessee Tech women's basketball departs this week for their second Ohio Valley Conference road trip of the year as the Golden Eagles head to Illinois to face the SIUE Cougars on Thursday, Jan. 16. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.
About the Golden Eagles
Tech enters Thursday's competition on a seven-game winning streak, including an unbeaten record in OVC play. The Golden Eagles opened conference play with a pair of impressive double-digit road victories over Eastern Kentucky (60-42) and Morehead State (75-55), before returning home to complete another weekend sweep over Austin Peay (58-49) and Murray State (77-72). Junior Kesha Brady leads the Golden Eagles averaging 14.7 points per game, followed by junior Mackenzie Coleman with 10.8 points per contest this season. Tech has produced 71.1 points per game this season, while limiting its opponents to only 59.9 points per game.
About the SIUE
The Cougars are 1-3 through their first two weekends of conference play. SIUE split their opening-weeking, falling against Belmont (69-48) but finished with a victory over Tennessee State (76-63). The Cougars enter Thursday's game on a two-game losing streak after falling to Morehead State (75-69) and Eastern Kentucky (49-46) this past weekend. SIUE is led in scoring by Allie Troeckler (11.7) and Christen King (8.2). As a team, the Cougars are averaging just 59.4 points while surrendering 70.1 points through 15 contests.
Tech vs. SIUE
Since joining the OVC in 2008, the Cougars have produced an 8-5 all-time series lead over the Golden Eagles. Tech leads the series in Cookeville 3-2, while SIUE leads the series in Edwardsville 5-2, and 1-0 at neutral locations. Last season, the Golden Eagles snapped a five-game losing skid against the Cougars on Jan. 10, 2019 in a decisive 79-55 victory in Cookeville, but the Cougars got the upper hand in the second matchup of the season, earning a 63-61 victory on Feb. 28, 2019 in Edwardsville.
Last Time Out
Tech produced an impressive second-half effort outscoring the Racers 49-40 over the final 20 minutes of play to secure a 77-72 victory over Murray State and extend Tech's winning streak to seven-straight contests and remain unbeaten in conference play.
Five Golden Eagles recorded double-figure scoring in the contest, with junior Jordan Brock leading the way with 15 points and being named the Special Olympics Player of the Game, shooting .833 (5-of-6) from the floor, 75 percent (3-of-4) from beyond the arc, and a perfect 100 percent (2-of-2) from the free throw line. Junior Kesha Brady followed closely behind Brock with 13 points, while senior Anacia Wilkinson netted 12 points in the affair. The final two Golden Eagles in double-figures was junior Mackenzie Coleman and freshman Maaliya Owens, who netted 10 points apiece. Brady collected a team-high six boards, while freshman Jada Guinn picked up five of her own. Akia Harris dished out a team-high five assists, and Wilkinson and Owens both tallied a pair of blocks in the win.
Back-to-back Freshman of the Week
Freshman guard Maaliya Owens stepped up in a big way in her first-ever weekend of OVC play, garnering the second Freshman of the Week nod of her young career. Owens scored nine points, shooting 38 percent (3-of-8) from the field and 43 percent (3-of-7) from beyond the arc, in addition to adding three rebounds against the Colonels. Owens finished the weekend with a team second-best 14 points, shooting 50 percent (5-of-10) from the field and a perfect 100 percent (4-of-4) from 3-point range, while adding two steals and a board during the Golden Eagles impressive 20-point victory over the Morehead State Eagles.
The honor marks the second of her career and the third for the Golden Eagles this season. Owens also becomes the first Golden Eagle to win multiple weekly honors during the same season since teammate Akia Harris, who was a three-time Freshman of the Week recipient during the 2016-17 season. She also becomes the first Golden Eagle to earn back-to-back OVC weekly honors since Brittany Darling received Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 7 and Feb. 14. during the 2010-11 season.
Balanced Offensive Attack
Since starting OVC play, the Golden Eagles have had a balanced attack with four players averaging double-digit scoring. Juniors Kesha Brady and Jordan Brock lead the way with 11.5 points per game, while junior Mackenzie Coleman and senior Anacia Wilkinson follow closely behind with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Stingy Defense
The Golden Eagles have held 12 of their 15 opponents this season below 70 points, 10 of which were held below 60 points. Through 15 games, the Golden Eagles have surrendered just 59.9 points per game.
Hot Starts
The Golden Eagles have opened the scoring in 10 of their 15 contests this season, with the only five games proving differently being against Southern Illinois, Middle Tennessee, Western Carolina, Morehead State, and Austin Peay. Tech has also outscored its opponents 270-196 in the first quarter and 515-390 over the first 20 minutes so far this season, leading to an average halftime score of 34-26.
Approaching Milestones
Anacia Wilkinson set the school record last season for blocked shots in a season with a dominant 92 blocked shots. She has collected 174 blocks throughout her career as a Golden Eagle, sitting just 21 blocks away from breaking the school record of 194 career blocks, set by Melinda Clayton during her four-year Golden Eagle career from 1986-90. On a per game basis, Wilkinson's 2.0 blocks per contest average currently leads the Tech record books.
Akia Harris has collected 857 points throughout her career at Tech and is just 143 points shy of becoming the 31st player in Tech history to surpass the 1,000-points mark during their career as a Golden Eagle.
Jordan Brock has been a dominant long-range threat for the Golden Eagles ever since arriving in Cookeville. Brock currently sits No. 3 all-time at Tech in made 3-pointers with 182 through 77 contests and 44 away from breaking the school record, held by current assistant coach Allison Clark. Brock has also netted 856 career points as a Golden Eagle, putting her 144 points away from breaking the 1,000-point mark and becoming the 31st Golden Eagle in school history to achieve the feat.
A Look Ahead
The Golden Eagles continue their tour of the Land of Lincoln as they head to Charleston, Ill. To face Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Jan. 18. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. CT.
Photo by Will Becque, Southern Illinois Athletics Communications
