GAME NOTES: Game 4 vs. Western Kentucky (PDF)
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It will be a hectic couple of days for the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team as it hosts a pair of matinees on Sunday and Monday to close out the pre-Christmas slate.
With the cancellation of Saturday's game against Samford, the Golden Eagles will pick up Western Kentucky on Sunday. The action will continue on Monday as Tech hosts Mercer.
Both games are scheduled for 2 p.m. tipoffs. Roger Ealey will provide the radio call on 106.1 The Eagle, while Buddy Pearson and Michael Cooper will handle the broadcast on ESPN+ (subscription required).
It's been awhile since the Golden Eagles have squared off with Western Kentucky. These two longtime rivals saw quite a bit of each other from the late '70s to the early 2000s, but the two teams haven't played against each other since January 2012, with the Lady Toppers taking the 71-58 decision.
Jala Harris and Tacarra Hayes each scored 14 points, while Brittany Darling added 13 and Molly Heady 10 in the last meeting, while WKU's Keshia Mosley scored 22 and LaTeira Owens picked up a double-double with 11 points and 15 boards.
WKU leads the all-time series by a slim 19-18 margin. The Golden Eagles won 11 of the first 12 meetings in the series through 1982, but the Lady Toppers have only been topped seven times since, including a 69-59 win in Cookeville in 2011. Tech, however, is 12-5 against Western Kentucky in the Eblen Center.
This year's WKU team comes into Cookeville with a 1-4 record. The Lady Toppers started the season with an 87-47 loss against Tennessee, then took a close 58-54 loss at home against Ball State. Back on the road, WKU fell 63-47 to Little Rock, then picked up an 82-49 win Wednesday night over Bellarmine in its inaugural season on the Division I level.
Friday night, Western Kentucky took on Mercer, Tech's opponent on Monday afternoon. The Bears won the game 71-54, bolstered by a 21-point performance from Jaron Dougherty, who worked her way to a 10-for-20 performance inside the arc. Jada Lewis also scored 17 points and Shannon Titus added 13 for Mercer (5-3).
Western Kentucky had a tough night shooting, ending the night 19-for-58 from the floor, 3-for-20 beyond the arc and 13-for-20 at the free-throw line. Fatou Pouye led WKU with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Hope Sivori saw just three of her 16 shot attempts fall through for 11 points.
The Lady Toppers have three players leading the team in scoring as Pouye, Ally Collett and Meral Abdelgawad each average 10.6 points per game. Abdelgawad is also a significant presence on the glass, averaging 9.0 caroms a night. Sivori has also been solid at setting up plays, coming away with 24 assists this season in five contests.
Monday will only be the eighth meeting all-time between the Bears and the Golden Eagles. Tech leads the series 4-3, winning four of the first five meetings between 1975 and 1993. The last two meetings in late 2014 and 2015 both went Mercer's way, winning 63-47 in the last meeting – the only Tech loss in four meetings in the Eblen Center.
In that contest, Samaria Howard led the Golden Eagles with 15 points and nine rebounds, but Tech had a hard time countering Kahlia Lawrence, who ended the game with 27 points.
Mercer has been able to get more games in this season, posting a 5-3 record as they come into Cookeville on Monday. The Bears opened the season with an 83-64 loss at Georgia, then knocked off Tennessee State 81-61. Clemson handed Mercer a 67-54 defeat, then the Bears bounced back with wins over Covenant (78-25) and UAB (71-68). Hosting Alabama, the Bears fell 78-61, but Mercer is coming in with back-to-back wins over South Carolina State (77-27) and Western Kentucky.
Mercer is coached by a familiar name as Suzie Gardner – former Austin Peay head coach from 1996 to 2003 – is at the helm. The Bears have four players averaging double-digit scoring, with Dougherty (17.1), Amoria Neal-Tyson (15.8), Lewis (11.9) and Titus (11.0) leading the team. Dougherty is also averaging 10.0 rebounds per game.
Free-throw shooting is also a strength as Dougherty is shooting .800 (17-for-21), Neal-Tyson .900 (18-for-20) and Lewis .800 (16-for-20). The team also has 78 steals, averaging almost 10 a game.
For the Golden Eagles (2-1), Kesha Brady is averaging 22.7 points, with Anna Jones also in double figures with 11.3 a night. Jones also leads on the glass with a 7.0-rebound average.
Tech opened the season last Friday with a 76-65 loss at Chattanooga, but has won two straight, knocking off Jacksonville State 68-66 in its Ohio Valley Conference opener, then topped Western Carolina 67-63 on Wednesday night.
Season tickets for Tech basketball are still on sale, though seating is limited in compliance with NCAA and OVC guidelines. Face masks are also required at all times during games. For tickets, visit TTUsports.com, call (931) 372-3940 or visit the Eblen Center ticket office to order.
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