By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Cookeville Mayor Laurin Wheaton read out a long list of accomplishments the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team achieved during the 2022-23 season with Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter on Monday afternoon, citing details from a joint proclamation from the city and county.
It certainly was an impressive list, culminating in the Golden Eagles' 10th Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship – its first since the 1999-2000 campaign – as well as the team's first NCAA tournament victory since 1990.
The proclamation was only part of the awards luncheon in the Hooper Eblen Center as several Golden Eagles were honored for their own achievements during the team's run this year.
Referencing the team's first-ever selection to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's Academic Top 25 and the team's 3.58 cumulative grade point average in this past semester, assistant coach Melanie Walls, who oversees the team's academic efforts, announced junior guard Ansley Hall as the team's Academic Award winner.
Next was the John and Anne Hendrix Leadership Award, which went to junior forward Anna Walker. The Cleveland native set new career-highs in scoring with 24 points against Samford and rebounds with 13 against SIUE as she averaged 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds.
The Golden Eagle Stat Stuffer Award went to senior guard Jada Guinn as the Oak Ridge native ranked high in the OVC in several categories. Guinn reached 984 points, 600 rebounds, 395 assists and 173 steals in her career to become one of six Tech players all-time to record more than 750 points, 300 assists, 500 rebounds and 125 steals in a career – joining Hall of Famers Janet Holt, Pam Chambers, Tacarra Hayes, Chris Moye and Cecilia Ramsey.
The Ed and Wanda Jared Unsung Hero went to junior guard Peyton Carter. Carter finished the season averaging 6.0 points and 4.5 rebounds, setting new career game highs with 14 points against both Samford and Southern Indiana and 12 rebounds at Little Rock.
The SOAR Award, based on the principles the team stands by every day, was received by freshman guard Reghan Grimes. The Nashville native averaged 8.3 points and a team-best 5.7 rebounds per game with a career-high 17 points against Tennessee State and 10 rebounds against Southeast Missouri.
The final award of the day, the Frank Porter Award, was bestowed upon senior guard Maaliya Owens. The first-team All-OVC selection set a new program record in 3-pointers made in a single season with 92, while averaging a team-best 14.9 points per game. She also became the program's 35th 1,000-point scorer, reaching the milestone in the Golden Eagles' OVC championship win over Little Rock.
Over the course of this historic season, the Tennessee Tech women earned their 1,000th program win – becoming just the 21st Division I team to reach that milestone. With 23 victories in the 2022-23 season, they became the first Golden Eagle women's basketball team to collect back-to-back 20-win seasons since 2004-05 and 2005-06, the first to reach consecutive OVC championship games since 2011-12 and 2012-13, as well as the first to have five straight winning seasons, five straight OVC winning seasons and five straight seasons with double-digit OVC wins since 2001-02.
Photos | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
