By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – As Tennessee Tech enters the home stretch of the Ohio Valley Conference campaign, it's starting to be crunch time for the Golden Eagle women.
Still standing just two games back of second-place UT Martin and Little Rock and just a game ahead of ninth-place Southeast Missouri and Lindenwood, Tech has a chance to propel itself up the standings. The two teams breathing down their necks, conveniently, are who the Golden Eagles have to contend with this weekend as Tech gets back on the road.
The road trip begins Thursday as the Golden Eagles head to Cape Girardeau. Tipoff from the Show Me Center is set for 5:15 p.m. Dylan Vazzano will have the call locally on 106.1 The Eagle, while the game will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).
With eight games remaining in league play, there is plenty of room to climb up and claim great positioning for the conference tournament in March.
Southern Indiana remains on top with a 9-1 record in league play, but the Screaming Eagles have a slight cushion from UT Martin and Little Rock in second, both with identical 7-4 marks. From there, it's a three-way tie for fourth with Western Illinois, Morehead State and Eastern Illinois sitting at 6-4. Tech and Tennessee State are tied for seventh at 4-6, followed by Southeast Missouri and Lindenwood at 3-7 and SIUE at 1-9.
The Golden Eagles (9-12) won the earlier meeting with the Redhawks back on Jan. 13, topping SEMO 76-65 after rallying from a 13-point deficit in the second quarter. Harley Paynter had a day against the Redhawks, tripling her previous career-high in scoring with 21 points, going 6-for-8 from the field. Maaliya Owens had 19 points, Kiera Hill 15 and Reghan Grimes 13.
Alecia Doyle had 23 points to lead all scorers in addition to the Redhawks, while Indiya Brown had 12 points and Julia Sion 10.
The Golden Eagles have fared decently well on the road this season, going 3-2 away from the Eblen Center. In road conference contests, Tech has averaged 73.8 points a game with Owens averaging 15.8 points and Grimes 13.2 and the team shooting .418 on the enemy court.
Tech leads the all-time series against the Redhawks 37-27, winning the last five contests, with a 14-14 record in Cape Girardeau. Tech head coach Kim Rosamond looks to even her record against SEMO, currently standing at 6-7.
SEMO, at 6-15 overall, has lost its last four games and five of its last six. The Redhawks' last win came on January 20 in a home contest against SIUE, topping the Cougars 86-72. After that, SEMO dropped a 52-44 decision at UT Martin and a 53-47 contest at Little Rock. The Redhawks continued the road trip with a 67-53 loss at Lindenwood, then fell at home 70-59 to Western Illinois.
As a team, SEMO is averaging 63.3 points a game and allowing 67.9 with the team shooting .386 from the field, .263 from 3-point range and .733 from the stripe. Jaliyah Green is averaging 14.2 points and 4.4 rebounds, while Doyle is averaging 12.6 points. Amiyah Buchanan is averaging a team-best 4.5 rebounds as the Redhawks are getting outrebounded 37.6 to 31.3 per game.
Tech, meanwhile, is averaging 68.4 points a game with the opponents catching up with a 66.2-point rate. The Golden Eagles are shooting .403 from the field, .322 from 3-point range and .757 from the free-throw line. Owens leads the team in scoring with a 14.8-point mark, with Grimes leading the team in rebounding at 5.6 caroms a night.
Following Saturday's game at Lindenwood, the Golden Eagles return home for a Tuesday/Thursday shift, hosting Tennessee State on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
Photo | Jim Dillon
