GAME NOTES: Game 19 -- at Tennessee State (PDF)
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech women are playing well, winning eight of their last 10 games and making a push for one of the top seeds in the Ohio Valley Conference basketball tournament, which begins in two weeks in Evansville, Ind.
Tennessee State, in the meantime, is looking for its first win of the season.
The Golden Eagles will be looking to avoid any slip ups on Thursday as the two teams square off in Nashville at the Gentry Center, scheduled for a 5 p.m. tip. Dylan Vazzano will provide the radio call on 106.1 The Eagle, while C.J. Eke and Alex Gould will broadcast the game on ESPN+.
Defensively, Tech has been slowing down the opponents. During the Golden Eagles' recent stretch, seven quarters have seen single-digit scoring from the other side. Two of those came in the previous game against the Tigers.
In the January 16 meeting, only Jaden Wrightsell was able to post double digits, scoring 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting. TSU was 28.6 percent from the field, 15.4 from 3-point range as the Tigers were 2-for-13. The Golden Eagles also controlled the boards by a wide margin, collecting 40 rebounds to TSU's 19.
While the records don't show it in the win column, Tennessee State has seen improvement since playing Tech. As a team, the Tigers are now averaging 50.3 points a game – up from 48.9 before the Tech game – and allowing an average of 68.1 points, down from 76.5. Shooting percentages have gone up to .361 from the field in the nine games since, including .263 from 3-point range and .700 at the free-throw line – all improvements since before the Jan. 16 contest.
One number that has conspicuously dropped since the last time the two teams met though is rebounding. TSU averaged 34.5 rebounds a game before meeting up with the Golden Eagles. Since that game, the Tigers are averaging 28.3 caroms.
Andreana Wristler leads TSU in scoring, averaging 14.3 points a game, as well as assists, averaging 2.33 dishes. Wrightsell leads the Tigers in rebounds, pulling down 7.4 a night.
Back to full-season stats, the Tigers are averaging 48.8 points per game and allowing an average of 72.7. From the floor, TSU is shooting .336, .227 from long-range and .655 at the stripe. They're bringing down an average of 30.6 rebounds per game.
Kesha Brady leads Tech in scoring with 12.8 points per game, while Anna Jones and Mackenzie Coleman are posting identical 11.1-point averages. Jones also leads Tech in rebounding with a 6.4-board mark, followed closely by Coleman (6.2) and Jada Guinn (6.3). Guinn leads the team in assists, dishing out 4.1 dimes a night.
Tech is averaging 68.4 points on offense, while allowing 60.9 points to opponents. The Golden Eagles are shooting .429 from the floor, .322 from 3 and .752 at the charity stripe, while averaging 36.1 rebounds per game.
In the last 10 games, where Tech has gone 8-2, the Golden Eagles have four players averaging double-digit scoring – Jones (11.3), Brady (10.9), Guinn (10.2) and Coleman (10.1) – with Jordan Brock nearby with a 9.7-point clip. In that stretch, Tech is scoring 68.9 points, allowing 54.8, shooting .458 from the floor, .359 from 3 and .758 at the line, while bringing down 37.1 rebounds.
Tennessee Tech leads the all-time series against TSU 61-14, winning 10 of the last 11 games and 19 of the last 22. Tech head coach Kim Rosamond is 8-1 against the Tigers.
In the current standings, the Golden Eagles (12-6, 10-5 OVC) stand three games back from first-place UT Martin (14-4, 13-2 OVC). Belmont, by virtue of winning percentage having played fewer conference contests, is second with a 9-3 mark in the league, while Southeast Missouri has one more win than Tech to stand in third at 11-5.
Jacksonville State (9-5 OVC), Austin Peay (8-5 OVC), Murray State (8-8 OVC) and Eastern Illinois (7-9 OVC) currently occupy the qualifying spots for the conference tournament, with Eastern Kentucky (6-9) and Morehead State (5-10) on the outside looking in.
