Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (16-7, 9-3 OVC) vs. Jacksonville State Gamecocks (10-13, 6-6 OVC)
Game 24 • Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020 • 11 a.m. (CT)
Cookeville, Tenn. • Hooper Eblen Center
Video Stream: ESPN+ (Dylan Vazzano & Frank Harrell)
Listen: 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Twitter Updates: @TTUWBB
Series Record: Tech leads, 23-10 (Last: Tech W 62-59, 2/14/19)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech women's basketball looks to break its two-game skid on Thursday as it hosts the Jacksonville State Gamecocks for the Golden Eagles' annual Education Day. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. inside the Hooper Eblen Center.
About the Golden Eagles
Tech enters Thursday's contest on a two-game skid after falling to UT Martin (71-62) and Southeast Missouri (87-72). The Golden Eagles sit fourth in the league standings, just one game behind UT Martin and Southeast Missouri with six games remaining.
Junior Kesha Brady leads the Golden Eagles offensively, averaging 15.3 points per game, while fellow juniors Mackenzie Coleman and Jordan Brock have also recorded double-digit scoring this season with 11.1 and 10.7 points per contest. Senior Anacia Wilkinson leads the Tech defensively, grabbing 6.5 rebounds per game and blocking 2.3 shots per game this season. Tech's other senior Akia Harris has dished out a team-leading 5.0 assists per game this season.
The Golden Eagles rank first 22nd nationally in 3-point field goals made with 192 and 3-point field goals made per game, averaging 8.3 per contest this season. Tech has also been a clean team this season, ranking 23rd nationally in personal fouls per game with 14.3 per game. In the OVC, Tech ranks first in 3-point field goal percentage, shooting 35 percent on the year and assists with 15.6 per game.
About the Gamecocks
Jacksonville State is coming off a pair of losses this weekend against Southeast Missouri (79-52) and UT Martin (86-72). On the season, the Gamecocks are 10-13 overall and an even 6-6 in OVC play.
Two Gamecocks are averaging double-figures, led by Destiney Elliott's 12.2 points per game and Taylor Hawks' 11.7 points per game. Chloe Long averages a team-leading 6.8 boards per contest, while Elloitt pulls down 6.4 rebounds per game. Hawks has dished out a team-best 2.8 dimes per game, as well as 1.7 steals per game. Long has been the Gamecocks leading shot-blocker, denying 1.5 shots per game this season.
Tech vs. Jacksonville State
Tech leads the all-time series over Jacksonville, 23-10. The Golden Eagles hold the advantage in Cookeville, 12-4, and in Jacksonville, 11-5. However, the Gamecocks hold a 1-0 advantage at neutral locations. In their last meeting, Tech earned a close 62-59 victory over Jacksonville State in Cookeville during their second matchup of the 2018-19 season on Feb. 14, 2019.
Last Time Out
Tech took on the Southeast Missouri Redhawks this past Saturday, falling in an 87-72 decision.
Three Golden Eagles tallied double-digit scoring in the contest. Leading the way was freshman Maaliya Owens, who came off the bench for a career-high 18 points. Owens shot 6-of-12 from the field, 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and a perfect 2-of-2 from the line.
Joining Owens in double-digits was senior Akia Harris and Mackenzie Coleman. Harris netted 12 points, shooting 3-of-8 from the field, 1-of-2 from long-range, and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. She also dished out a game-high eight assists. Coleman scored 11 points in the contest, shooting 4-of-5 from the field, and a perfect 1-1 from 3-point range, as well as 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
The Golden Eagles kept things within four after the opening period, 30-26, but struggled to close the gap after Southeast Missouri kicked the lead out to a 15-point advantage after the opening half, 47-32. Tech outscored the Redhawks 24-16 in the third period to bring the game back within seven, but Southeast Missouri matched it with a 24-16 period of their own to close the game at its final, 87-72.
Stingy Defense
The Golden Eagles have held 17 of their 23 opponents below 70 points this season, 13 of which were held below 60 points. Through 23 games, the Golden Eagles have surrendered just 62.3 points per game.
Hot Starts
The Golden Eagles have opened the scoring in 14 of their 23 contests this season, with the only nine games proving differently being against Southern Illinois, Middle Tennessee, Western Carolina, Morehead State, Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee State, UT Martin, and Southeast Missouri. Tech has also outscored its opponents 408-345 in the first quarter and 785-655 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 934 points throughout her career at Tech and is just 66 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 480 and needs just 18 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 205 through 85 contests and 21 away from breaking the school record, held by current assistant coach Allison Clark. Brock has also netted 954 career points as a Golden Eagle, putting her 46 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 will continue their weekend play as they hit the road to head to Music City to take on the Tennessee State Tigers on Saturday, February 15 at 5:30 p.m. inside the Gentry Center.
