COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – After a couple of weekends on the road, the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team returns home on Wednesday to take on Division II Lincoln Memorial at the Eblen Center.

 

Tipoff for the game is set for 6 p.m. Roger Ealey and Frank Harrell will have the call on 106.1 The Eagle, while Dylan Vazzano and Steve Smith will broadcast the game on ESPN+ (subscription required).

 

The Golden Eagles (1-4) had a strong showing at the Daytona Beach Classic this past weekend, taking Southeastern Conference foe Missouri to the brink with a tough 66-65 loss, then claimed their first win of the season by surging out ahead of Stetson.

 

Of the next five games for Tech, four are in the confines of the Eblen Center with the Railsplitters coming in on Wednesday, a visit to the Bluegrass State to take on Kentucky at Transylvania University as the Wildcats' arena is under renovation, then three straight home matchups against Middle Tennessee, Tennessee Wesleyan and Northern Kentucky before wrapping up the non-conference slate on the road at North Alabama.

 

Lincoln Memorial comes into the contest with a 3-1 record as the Railsplitters defeated Converse 63-60 and King 87-65 in the SAC/Conference Carolinas Challenge. LMU then got a 77-64 victory over Clayton State to open the North Georgia Nighthawk Classic, before falling to the hosts 58-56 in its last outing.

 

LMU finished 16-12 last season with a 9-9 in South Atlantic Conference play, falling to Wingate 49-39 in the quarterfinals.

 

This is the first meeting all-time between the two schools, though there is a connection. Monica Owens, the mother of Golden Eagle graduate guard Maaliya Owens, played for LMU and still owns the single-season record for assists and has the fifth-best single-season total in steals back in the 1988-89 season.

 

LMU has four players averaging double-digit scoring as Jordan Maney leads the way with a 12.5-point mark, followed by Geovana Rios (12.3 ppg), Lauren Flowers (10.3 ppg) and Alexa Smiddy (10.3 ppg). Rios also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 9.8 boards a game, and also leads the team in assists with 2.8 per game.

 

As a team, the Railsplitters are averaging 70.8 points a game, while allowing 61.8. LMU is shooting .395 from the field, .247 from 3-point range and .670 from the free-throw line.

 

The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, hope to have turned a corner after the victory over Stetson. Tech lost four straight games – at Ball State (97-64), vs. Chattanooga (70-45), in overtime at Alabama A&M (62-56) and the Daytona Beach Classic opener against Missouri (66-65) before claiming their first win.

 

Tech is averaging 59.0 points per game, while allowing 70.8. Owens leads the team in scoring with 12.2 points, while Reagan Hurst is averaging 10.6 points with Yaubryon Chambers just under the double-digit mark with 9.2 points. Owens (4.8 rebounds per game), Reghan Grimes (4.4 rpg) and Peyton Carter (4.0 rpg) lead the Golden Eagles in rebounds, while Cayla Cowart leads the team with 15 assists.

 

Tech is shooting .401 from the field, including .362 from 3-point range as the Golden Eagles average 6.8 3-pointers a game. Tech is also shooting .663 from the free-throw line.

 

Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.