By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
MONROE, La. – The Tennessee Tech women kick off their Louisiana swing to close out non-conference play on Saturday as the Golden Eagles take on ULM.
Tipoff for the contest is 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Thomas Corhern will have the call on 106.1 The Eagle, while the game will also be available on ESPN+ (subscription required).
After dropping two tough games on the road, the Golden Eagles bounced back in a big way with home wins over Alabama A&M and Tennessee Wesleyan. With Tech posting a 5-3 record thus far in the 2022-23 campaign, all five of the victories have come in the Eblen Center.
The Golden Eagles have a chance to erase that this week with Saturday's game at Monroe, as well as one or two neutral-site games at the Tulane Holiday Tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tech played VCU on Tuesday and will play either the host Green Wave or Saint Francis in the Wednesday contest.
ULM comes into Saturday's contest with a 3-6 record, falling in its last two games at Northwestern State (79-52) and McNeese (76-66). All three of the Warhawks' wins have come at home, but took two losses to Louisiana Tech (68-53) and Central Arkansas (60-53) on their home court. ULM's victories have come to Louisiana Christian (88-58), Centenary (103-28) and Champion Christian (85-54)
Kierra Brimzy leads the Warhawks in scoring with 10.3 points per game, while Katlyn Manuel (9.6 ppg) and Emma Merriweather (9.4 ppg) are hovering around the double-digit scoring mark. Merriweather also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down an average of 8.5 boards. Olivia Knight (2.78 apg) and Aasia Sam (2.11 apg) leads ULM in assists.
The Warhawks can be a fast and aggressive team, averaging 10.22 steals per game and forcing 19.2 turnovers per night. Bre Sutton (13), Knight (12) and Manuel (11) are tops on the squad in steals, while Merriweather also has 13 of ULM's 37 blocks.
As a team, the Warhawks are averaging 65.9 points a game and giving up 66.1. ULM is shooting .388 from the floor, .260 from 3-point range and .600 at the free-throw line. The Warhawks are averaging 42.6 rebounds and 14.67 assists per game.
The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, are averaging 66.3 points per game and allowing 66.4. Tech is shooting .409 from the field, .344 beyond-the-arc and .747 from the charity stripe. Tech is averaging 33.4 rebounds, 15.25 assists, 15 turnovers and 6.88 steals per game.
Maaliya Owens leads the Golden Eagles' scorers with a 12.1-point average, while Anna Walker (9.9 ppg) and Reghan Grimes (9.0 ppg) are both close to breaking into double-digits. Grimes and Walker also lead the team in rebounds with 5.5 and 5.3 per game respectively.
Following the Louisiana road trip and the Christmas holiday, Tech will open Ohio Valley Conference play on Dec. 29 at SIUE and Dec. 31 at Lindenwood before coming back home to ring in the new year with a visit from Eastern Illinois.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech home games are available now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or visit TTUsports.com to order.
Photo | Jim Dillon
