By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's been a pretty good while since the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team has started 3-0. You have to go back to 2010-11 to find that start, which extended to a fourth win.
The Golden Eagles will try to match that start Thursday night as they entertain Jackson State. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7 p.m. following the Tech volleyball team's Ohio Valley Conference match against Southern Indiana, which starts at 3:30 p.m.
It's also been a long time since the Golden Eagles have even faced Jackson State – the two teams squared off in Tech's inaugural varsity season in 1970-71 but haven't seen each other since.
Roger Ealey and Frank Harrell will have the call on 106.1 The Eagle, while Dylan Vazzano and Steve Smith will narrate the action on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Jackson State enters Thursday's contest with an 1-1 record. The Tigers collected a 93-36 exhibition victory over the Mississippi University for Women, before heading to Clemson for a 78-44 defeat in the season opener. JSU bounced back with a 55-48 victory this past Saturday at East Tennessee State.
Taleah Dilworth leads the team in scoring with a 14.0-point average, shooting 10-for-16 from the field and 8-for-9 at the free-throw line. Jaileyah Cotton is up next with a 9.5-point average, while leading the team in assists with four, rebounds with 13 and steals with five.
As a team, Jackson State is averaging 49.5 points, 33.5 rebounds and 16.0 turnovers. The Tigers are shooting .312 from the field, 10-for-41 from 3 and .700 at the free-throw line.
JSU was picked to finish fourth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
For the Golden Eagles, the team is averaging 67.7 points. 40.0 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 9.7 steals and 7.3 blocks per game, while the turnover average is starting to drop, now standing at 17.7 per game at the end of the first week of play.
Tech opened the season with big wins. Following an 82-54 victory over non-Division I Emory & Henry, Reghan Grimes sank a last-second bucket to give the Golden Eagles a 49-46 road victory at Chattanooga, then Tech returned home to beat a North Alabama team that topped UT Martin on the road with a 73-64 victory.
In the contest against the Lions, Tech blocked 12 total shots, standing in second in the single-game team total. Anna Walker set a career-high with seven stops – tied for fifth for the most individual blocks in program history. Walker, who needs 36 points to reach 1,000 points in her career, needs 15 rebounds to reach 500 and one block to reach 100 in the career charts.
Grimes leads the team in scoring with a 14.0-point average, while Walker is averaging close to a double-double with 11.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. True freshman Chloe Larry is averaging 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists, while Eastern Illinois transfer Taris Thornton is averaging 10.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals.
As a team, Tech is shooting .413 from the field, .255 from 3-point range and .722 at the line with 4.3 3-pointers and 17.3 free throws made per game.
Season 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.
Photo | Jim Dillon
