Posted: Feb 24, 2023
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
CHARLESTON, Ill. – For the most part, the field for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament in Evansville next week is set. Little Rock is the No. 1 seed, Eastern Illinois No. 2 and Tennessee Tech No. 3, while Southeast Missouri has locked up the No. 5 spot. From there, it's Morehead State, SIUE, Tennessee State and UT Martin trying to solidify their official spot with one of the first-round byes still in play.
One might think that Saturday's contest between Tennessee Tech and Eastern Illinois would have no stakes, but far from it. Even though the Golden Eagles and the Panthers know exactly when their tournament run starts next week in Evansville, there's still a little matter of pride on the line on Saturday when the two teams square off for the regular-season finale.
Tipoff from Lantz Arena is set for 1 p.m. Dylan Vazzano will have the radio call on 106.1 The Eagle, while the game will also be streamed on ESPN+.
Eastern Illinois took the first salvo back on January 5 as the Panthers rallied back to outscore the Golden Eagles 22-14 in the final 10 minutes for a 67-62 victory in the Eblen Center. With Anna Walker absent from injury, freshman Reagan Hurst led Tech with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Jada Guinn scored 14 and Jordan Brock added 13.
Lariah Washington led the Panthers with 21 points, while Morgan Litwiller scored 15 and Miah Monahan scored 14.
The contest was nearly even on every aspect, but the Panthers had more assists and the Golden Eagles more steals.
The Panthers saw a 12-game OVC winning streak end on Feb. 11 with a 82-77 loss at SIUE, then it became a three-game skid as Southeast Missouri topped EIU 62-57, then Little Rock claimed a share of the regular-season title with a 46-42 win over EIU. The Panthers broke the three-game skid on Thursday with a 60-49 victory over Morehead State, while the Trojans ended all hope of Eastern Illinois creating a tie with a victory on Thursday.
The Golden Eagles (18-9, 12-5 OVC) have won their last three games and five of their last six as they head into the finale. Tech holds a 33-17 record all-time against Eastern Illinois and had won eight straight before the Panthers were victorious in the Eblen Center.
Maaliya Owens leads the Golden Eagles in scoring averaging 15.0 points, while Jada Guinn (9.9 ppg) and Anna Walker (9.5 ppg) are close to the double-digit mark. In the last five games alone, Owens is averaging 21.6 points per game and is now 49 points away from becoming Tech's 35th all-time 1,000-point scorer.
Reghan Grimes is averaging 5.6 rebounds, while Guinn is averaging 4.0 assists a game.
Washington leads EIU (21-6, 13-3 OVC) with a 16.8-point average, while Macy McGlone is averaging 12.1 points and 7.2 rebounds. Miah Monahan is averaging 4.8 assists per game.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
