By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Saturday will be a day of recognition for the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team as it celebrates Legends Weekend when Tennessee State comes to the Hooper Eblen Center for an Ohio Valley Conference showdown.
Tipoff from the Hoop is scheduled for 1 p.m. Roger Ealey and Frank Harrell will have the radio call on 106.1 The Eagle, while Dylan Vazzano and Michael Cooper will broadcast the game on ESPN+ (subscription required). The game will also be available locally on radio on campus station 88.5 WTTU and on television on WCTE.
In addition to a pre-game ceremony recognizing head coach Kim Rosamond for her 100th career victory on December 31 at Lindenwood, the program will also recognize four championship anniversaries including the 45th anniversary of the 1977-78 team that won the inaugural OVC championship, the 30th anniversary of the OVC regular-season and tournament champion 1992-93 team, the 25th anniversary of the 1997-98 OVC regular-season champions and the 10th anniversary of the 2012-13 OVC regular-season champions.
Following the conclusion of the game, all Tech women's basketball alumni will be invited to join the current members of the team in recognition of the team's 1,000th victory – the 21st Division I team to reach the milestone.
Festivities aside, it's a big game for the Golden Eagles (10-5), who come into the contest with a 4-1 record in the OVC, standing one game back in the conference standings behind undefeated Eastern Illinois and Little Rock. The visiting Lady Tigers (7-9) are in the five-team logjam at 2-3 in the league, three games back from the leaders and two games back from Tech.
Tennessee State has won back-to-back games, including a five-point 79-74 victory at Lindenwood and a four-point 71-67 victory over UT Martin as the Skyhawks continued to be without the services of Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, Kenley McCarn and Paige Pipkin.
It was a departure from the first three games of the OVC season where TSU dropped all three games, falling 81-58 to Morehead State, 64-57 at SIUE and 76-69 at SIUE. Tech topped Morehead 69-52 on Thursday night and beat SIUE 85-70 to open OVC play.
Erica Haynes-Overton, a graduate transfer from Kansas, leads the Lady Tigers, averaging 14.9 points as she is shooting .474 from the floor, .357 from the arc and .817 at the line. She also leads TSU in steals with 36, but also has the team's second-highest total in turnovers with 52 – one fewer than sophomore Gia Adams, who hit TSU's buzzer-beating game-winner in overtime in the last meeting at the Gentry Center.
Adams is TSU's other double-digit scorer on the season, averaging 13.9 points per game.
Haynes-Overton has scored in double-figures in all five OVC contests this season, scoring 30 points against SIUE and averaging 20 points per league game. She scored a season-high 32 against Omaha.
The Lady Tigers average 67.2 points per game, but allow an average of 72.9 – a statistic buoyed by a 93-27 loss to Baylor and a 100-72 loss to Southern Illinois. TSU shoots .403 from the floor, .243 from 3-point range – averaging 3.6 treys per game, and .711 at the charity stripe.
In OVC play, TSU is averaging 66.8 points a game and allowing 72.4, is outrebounded 34.2 to 33.8 and has 47 steals to opponents' 37.
Meanwhile, after a tight loss to Eastern Illinois, the Golden Eagles have bounced back to back-to-back wins over UT Martin and Morehead State. In conference play alone, Tech is averaging 69.8 points and giving up 54.6, while collecting an average of 37.6 rebounds to opponents' 28.2.
The Golden Eagles have three double-digit scorers in league play as Maaliya Owens is scoring 13.8 points per OVC game, Reagan Hurst 11.2 and Jada Guinn 10.8. Owens tied Anna Walker for the team's top-scoring output of the season Thursday night as she scored a career-high 24 points against Morehead.
For the season as a whole, Owens leads the Tech scorers with a 12.9-point average, while Walker (9.7) and Hurst (9.5) are close to the decade mark.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or visit TTUsports.com to order.
Photo | Jim Dillon
