Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (16-6, 9-2 OVC) vs. Southeast Missouri Redhawks (17-5, 9-2 OVC)
Game 23 • Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020 • 2 p.m. (CT)
Cape Girardeau, Mo. • Show Me Center
Video Stream: ESPN+
Listen: 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Twitter Updates: @TTUWBB
Series Record: Tech leads, 32-22 (Last: Tech L 62-53, 2/7/19)
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Tennessee Tech women's basketball continues its road trek on Friday, heading to Cape Girardeau, Mo. to face off with the Southeast Missouri Redhawks. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. CT.
About the Golden Eagles
Tech heads into Saturday's contest looking to bounce back after falling 71-62 against the UT Martin Skyhawks. The Golden Eagles are 16-6 overall and 9-2 in OVC play, sitting currently tied for second in the OVC with the Southeast Missouri Redhawks and Belmont Bruins. Tech has been a very efficient shooting team this season, leading the OVC in field goal percentage (.421) and 3-point field goal percentage (.349). The Purple and Gold has also done a good job handling the ball, leading the conference in assists, averaging 15.5 assists per contest, as well as assist/turnover ratio (1.1) this season. Junior Kesha Brady leads Tech with 15.6 points per game, while fellow juniors Mackenzie Coleman and Jordan Brock have notched 11.1 and 10.8 points per game. Senior Anacia Wilkinson has been the anchor to Tech's defensive presence, leading the team on the glass with 6.6 rebounds per game and tallying a team-leading 2.2 blocks per game this season.
About the Redhawks
The Redhawks enter Saturday's contest with the longest active winning streak among OVC programs, riding an eight-game winning streak, which dates back to Jan. 11. SEMO leads the OVC in scoring offense, averaging 73.5 points per game, as well as scoring margin (+11.9) holding its opponents to 61.5 points per game. SEMO also dominates the glass, leading the OVC in rebounding offense (44.6 rpg) and rebounding defense (35.3 rpg), grabbing nine more rebounds than their opponents per game this season. On Thursday, the Redhawks earned a 79-52 victory over the Jacksonville Gamecocks. SEMO is led by a duo of Tesia Thompson and Carrie Shephard, averaging 17.1 and 17 points per game. Thompson also leads the team on the glass, pulling down 7.8 boards per contest this season.
Tech vs. Southeast Missouri
Tech owns the all-time series lead over the Southeast Missouri Redhawks, 32-22, but SEMO is currently riding a two-game winning streak against the Golden Eagles. Tech holds an impressive 17-7 record over SEMO in Cookeville but are tied 12-12 in Cape Girardeau and 3-3 at neutral locations. During their last matchup last season, the Redhawks earned a 62-53 win over the Golden Eagles in Cape Girardeau.
Last Time Out
Tech fell in a hard-fought road battle against UT Martin on Thursday evening inside the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
Three Golden Eagles tallied double-digit totals with junior Kesha Brady leading the way with 17 points in the contest. Brady shot 5-of-13 from the field, 4-of-10 from 3-point range, and 3-of-4 from the line. She also tied for a team-high seven rebounds.
Juniors Mackenzie Coleman and Jordan Brock joined Brady in double-figures with 12 apiece. Coleman shot 3-of-4 from the floor, 2-of-3 from long-range, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line.
Tech battled strong with the Skyhawks trailing by only two points, 64-62, with three minutes to play, but UT Martin broke away at the end scoring seven unanswered to capture the 71-62 win.
OVC Road Dominance
Since beginning conference play, the Golden Eagles have won four of their five road contests by double-digits. Tech opened conference play with a pair of victories over Eastern Kentucky (60-42) and Morehead State (75-55), before heading to Illinois to defeat SIUE (65-50) and Eastern Illinois (75-62), with the only contest not ending in a double-figure Tech victory coming in a loss against conference-leader UT Martin (71-62).
Stingy Defense
The Golden Eagles have held 17 of their 22 opponents below 70 points this season, 13 of which were held below 60 points. Through 22 games, the Golden Eagles have surrendered just 61.1 points per game.
Hot Starts
The Golden Eagles have opened the scoring in 14 of their 22 contests this season, with the only eight games proving differently being against Southern Illinois, Middle Tennessee, Western Carolina, Morehead State, Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee State, and UT Martin. Tech has also outscored its opponents 382-315 in the first quarter and 753-608 over the first 20 minutes so far this season, leading to an average halftime score of 34-28.
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 184 blocks throughout her career as a Golden Eagle, sitting just 11 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 922 points throughout her career at Tech and is just 78 points shy of becoming the 31st player in Tech history to surpass the 1,000-point mark during their career as a Golden Eagle. She also ranks No. 7 all-time in assists with 472 and needs just 26 to surpass No. 6 all-time.
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 202 through 84 contests and 24 away from breaking the school record, held by current assistant coach Allison Clark. Brock has also netted 945 career points as a Golden Eagle, putting her 55 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
Tech returns home on Thursday as the Golden Eagles host the Jacksonville State Gamecocks for its Education Day game. Tipoff is slated for 11 a.m. CT inside the Hooper Eblen Center.
