By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech women will see six non-conference opponents enter the Hooper Eblen Center, giving fans the opportunity to cheer on the Golden Eagles as they prepare for the Ohio Valley Conference schedule beginning in late December.
It's an exciting and challenging pre-conference slate – one that will help the Golden Eagles prepare to make a push for the 2022-23 OVC crown. Five opponents finished in the top 100 of the NCAA's NET rankings, while four saw their season extend into postseason tournaments.
New to this year's schedule will be earlier doubleheader start times on Saturdays as the women's game will tip off at 1 p.m.
The schedule starts off with an exhibition contest against Stephens College on Oct. 27, part of Tech's Purple Palooza event. Led by former Tech men's basketball assistant coach Andre Bell, the Stars earned three all-American Midwest Conference selections this past season for the Columbia, Mo.-based NAIA program.
On November 7, the Tech women open the regular season at home against Ball State. Ranked No. 113 in last season's NET list, the Cardinals finished 20-13 and reached the Mid-American Conference championship game against Buffalo. BSU reached the WNIT and took on Marquette in the event's first round.
Three days later, the Golden Eagles head north to take on Cincinnati. While the 11-17 record last season is misleading, the Bearcats were very competitive in American Athletic Conference play with seven games decided by fewer than 10 points.
Tech returns home for a pair of games on Nov. 14 and Nov. 17 as the Golden Eagles host Samford and Trevecca. Samford finished 13-17 overall against a very challenging slate, and battled hard in the Southern Conference with a 7-7 mark, earning a semifinal bid to the SoCon tournament. Trevecca, out of Nashville, will make its first appearance against the Golden Eagles for the first time in program history.
The Golden Eagles close out November with a trip to Northern Kentucky on Nov. 20. The Norse had a tremendous season last year, finishing with a 21-8 mark and 14-6 record in the Horizon League. Ranked 141st in the NET rankings, NKU returns four of its top five scorers.
Following the Thanksgiving break, the Golden Eagles take on traditional rival Middle Tennessee for a showdown in Murfreesboro on December 1. The Blue Raiders went 27-8 in 2021-22, earning a berth to the WNIT and marching their way to the tournament's championship game before falling in a thrilling 74-73 finale to Seton Hall.
Tech returns to Cookeville for a pair of home contests including a visit from Alabama A&M on Dec. 10, then hosting Tennessee Wesleyan on Dec. 13 in the Golden Eagles' annual Education Day contest, scheduled for an 11 a.m. tip. AAMU finished 15-14 last season, including a strong 13-5 record in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. TWU went 19-9 last season, including 17-7 in the NAIA's Appalachian Athletic Conference.
The Golden Eagles close out the non-conference slate with a swing through Louisiana, stopping in Monroe to take on ULM on Dec. 17, then onto New Orleans for the Tulane Holiday Tournament, which includes the host Green Wave, Saint Francis and VCU, on Dec. 20 and 21.
Tech is scheduled to take on VCU on the 20th. The Rams, ranked 91st the NET rankings, finished 16-12 last season, 9-5 in Atlantic-10 play, and return all five of their top scorers. Host Tulane, meanwhile, was ranked 68th in the NET rankings with a 20-10 record. Both of those teams reached the second round of the WNIT. The Red Flash finished 8-22, all eight wins coming in Northeast Conference play.
OVC play begins with a road swing to the west, starting with a Dec. 29 trek to SIUE. The trip also features a first-time look at newly minted league foe Lindenwood on Dec. 31 in St. Charles, Mo. Tech's league road slate also includes trips to UT Martin (Jan. 7), new OVC member Little Rock (Jan. 19), Southeast Missouri (Jan. 21), Morehead State (Feb. 2), Tennessee State (Feb. 11), new conference rival Southern Indiana (Feb. 23), and Eastern Illinois (Feb. 25).
The purple and gold welcome Eastern Illinois to the Eblen Center for its first OVC home tilt of th year on Jan. 5. Remaining on the home schedule are dates against Morehead State (Jan. 12), Tennessee State (Jan. 14), SIUE (Jan. 26), Little Rock (Jan. 28), Southeast Missouri (Feb. 4), Southern Indiana (Feb. 9), Lindenwood (Feb. 16), and UT Martin (Feb. 18).
The OVC Basketball Championships will once again take place at Evansville's Ford Center, scheduled for Mar. 1-4.
Season tickets for Tennessee Tech women's basketball are on sale now. Call (931) 372-3940, visit the Eblen Center ticket office or visit TTUsports.com.
Fans will be able to get their first glimpse of the Tech women's basketball team at its annual Biscuits and Basketball event on October 22. More information on that will announced later on the Tech women's basketball social media accounts and on TTUsports.com.
File Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
