By Jonathan Caudle, TTU Sports Information
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (13-4, 6-0 OVC) vs. Morehead State Eagles (7-11, 3-3 OVC)
Game 18 • Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 • 5:30 p.m. (CT)
Cookeville, Tenn. • Hooper Eblen Center
Television: WCTE (Mark & Mindy Odom)
Video Stream: ESPN+ (Dylan Vazzano & Rob Schabert)
Listen: 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Twitter Updates: @TTUWBB
Series Record: Tech leads, 60-29 (Last: Tech W 75-55, 1/4/20)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Golden Eagles return to the Hoop for a two-week homestand beginning with the Morehead State Eagles on Thursday, Jan. 23. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
Promotions
Academic Excellence Night - All Upper Cumberland youth with an A/B report card/progress report for their fall term will receive FREE admission into the Morehead State doubleheader by showing their progress report/report card at the ticket office.
About the Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles have been on a roll as they enter Thursday's contest on a nine-game winning streak, tying their longest streak of the 2018-19 season. This past weekend, the Golden Eagles tallied another pair of double-digit victories over SIUE and Eastern Illinois, marking Tech's third and fourth double-digit OVC road victories of the season. The Golden Eagles have three averaging double-figures. Junior Kesha Brady leads the way with 15.8 points per game, followed by fellow juniors Mackenzie Coleman and Jordan Brock averaging 10.6 and 10.1 points respectively. Tech has averaged 70.9 points per contest, while only allowing opponents to score 59.5 points per game through its 17 contests this season.
About Morehead State
The Eagles enter Thursday's contest with a 7-11 overall record and an even 3-3 mark in OVC play. Morehead State fell in their last OVC contest against the Belmont Bruins 71-62. The Eagles have secured conference victories over Jacksonville State (67-48), SIUE (75-69), and Tennessee State (84-47). Morehead State is led in scoring by Breuna Jackson (11.1) and Jazzmyn Elston (10.1). As a team, the Cougars are averaging 64.7 points while surrendering 65.7 points through 18 contests.
Tech vs. MSU
The Golden Eagles hold a 60-29 lead in the all-time series against the Eagles, although Morehead State has won six of the last seven meetings between the two teams. Tech holds a 32-10 all-time lead in Cookeville, a 23-18 all-time lead in Morehead, and a 5-1 all-time lead at neutral sites. During their last meeting, the Golden Eagles earned an impressive 75-55 victory over the Eagles on Jan. 4 in Morehead, Ky. inside Johnson Arena.
Last Time Out
Tech closed out its second OVC road trip of the year with a 75-62 victory over Eastern Illinois. The win marked the ninth-straight for the Golden Eagles, tying their longest winning streak from the 2018-19 season.
Brady produced her fifth 20-plus point performance of the season as she led the Golden Eagles with a game-high 20 points. Brady knocked down 67 percent (4-of-6) of her shots from 3-point range and netted 89 percent (8-of-9) from the line. She also led the team in assists with five in the contest.
Coleman and Brock joined Brady in double-figures with 15 and 14 points respectively. Coleman shot 70 percent (7-of-10) from the field and connected on her sole free throw of the game. She also led the Golden Eagles on the glass, tying for a game-high eight rebounds in the win. Brock shot 50 percent (5-of-10) from the field and 57 percent (4-of-7) from long-range.
Stingy Defense
The Golden Eagles have held 14 of their 17 opponents this season below 70 points, 11 of which were held below 60 points. Through 17 games, the Golden Eagles have surrendered just 59.5 points per game.
Hot Starts
The Golden Eagles have opened the scoring in 12 of their 17 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 302-227 in the first quarter and 593-446 over the first 20 minutes so far this season, leading to an average halftime score of 35-26.
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.
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 176 blocks throughout her career as a Golden Eagle, sitting just 19 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 1.9 blocks per contest average currently leads the Tech record books.
Akia Harris currently ranks No. 8 all-time in assists at Tech with 447 in her career. She currently sits two assists away from surpassing No. 7 all-time and 51 assists away from becoming No. 6 all-time in assists at Tech. She has also collected 871 points throughout her career at Tech and is just 129 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. 2 all-time at Tech in made 3-pointers with 188 through 79 contests and 38 away from breaking the school record, held by current assistant coach Allison Clark. Brock has also netted 880 career points as a Golden Eagle, putting her 120 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 weekend play as they host the Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Saturday, Jan. 25. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. on WCTE, ESPN+, and 106.1 The Eagle.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
