By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – If the previous meeting with Southeast Missouri is any indication, Saturday's showdown with the Redhawks could be an exciting one. Tennessee Tech hosts the Redhawk women at 1 p.m. at the Eblen Center.
Roger Ealey will have the call on 106.1 The Eagle, while Dylan Vazzano and Seth Bruton will handle broadcast duties on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Saturday's game is Tech's Play4Kay contest as the team encourages fan to wear pink and support the Kay Yow Cancer Fund's work in cancer research.
The last time Tech and SEMO squared off at the Show Me Center on Jan. 21, the Golden Eagles escaped Missouri with a 76-72 victory. Tech led 39-29 at the intermission, but saw SEMO climb back into the contest, as close as three points as the Redhawks outscored the Golden Eagles 43-37 in the second half.
Jaliyah Green led SEMO with 21 points, while Kennedi Watkins scored 16 and Alecia Doyle added 11. Watkins had a team-best nine rebounds, while Kiyley Flowers had five assists. Watkins currently leads the team in scoring and rebounding for the season with 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds a season.
The two teams combined for 74 points in the paint as the game was primarily a physical one under the basket. SEMO went 0-for-16 from 3-point range, while Tech knocked down four of its long-range tries.
Jada Guinn led the Golden Eagles with 20 points and eight rebounds as she was 7-for-10 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line. Reghan Grimes added 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
Tech leads the all-time series 35-25 and has won the last three meetings after dropping seven straight.
The Golden Eagles are also trying to avoid three straight conference losses for the first time since the end of the 2019-20 campaign as Tech fell to UT Martin, Southeast Missouri, Belmont and Jacksonville State in succession to close out the regular season before seeing the season come to an end with an overtime loss to Southeast Missouri in the OVC Tournament.
Eastern Illinois (11-0) maintains its one-game lead over Little Rock (10-1) in the conference standings, as the Golden Eagles (7-4) stand four back from the Panthers and three from the Trojans. UT Martin (6-5) is one game back from Tech, while Morehead State and SIUE at 5-6 is two games back as they try to make the push for the first round bye in the OVC tournament next month in Evansville. Southeast Missouri (4-7) and Tennessee State (4-7) currently hold on to what would the final two spots in the field, while Southern Indiana (3-8) and Lindenwood (0-11) are on the outside looking in.
The Redhawks have won one game – a 77-59 victory over Tennessee State – and lost two – 63-57 at Eastern Illinois and 58-39 against Little Rock – since last taking on the Golden Eagles. Tech, meanwhile, topped SIUE 89-62 before falling 66-63 to the Trojans and 70-68 at Morehead State.
In conference play, Jaliyah Green leads the Redhawks in scoring with a 12.4-point average, while Watkins is averaging 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds. As a team, SEMO is averaging 61.3 points and allowing 65.3, while shooting .364 from the field, .274 from long-range and .725 at the free-throw line.
The Golden Eagles are averaging 70.3 points in league play and allowing 61.8 points. Maaliya Owens is averaging 13.9 points per league game, while Guinn is averaging 12.4 points. Guinn and Grimes are both averaging 5.7 rebounds, while Peyton Carter is averaging 5.8 boards per OVC contest.
As a team, Tech is shooting .443 from the field, .312 from 3-point range and .784 at the charity stripe.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Eblen Center ticket office or visit TTUsports.com to order.
