By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team has been no stranger of early games of late as the Golden Eagles last three games have started at 1 p.m. or earlier.
Tech will get another one Friday morning as the Golden Eagles will welcome in the University of the Cumberlands for the program's seventh Education Day contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m.
The game will be broadcast on 106.1 The Eagle with Roger Ealey and Frank Harrell on the call, while Dylan Vazzano and Steve Smith will narrate the action on ESPN+ (subscription required).
The legions of Upper Cumberland students filling the Hooper Eblen Center with excitement and cheer have paid dividends to the Golden Eagles through the previous events as Tech holds a 5-1 record on Education Day since the first one with a 70-41 victory over Winthrop on Dec. 19, 2017. The Golden Eagles also defeated UNC Asheville 60-53 in 2018, before Jacksonville State claimed the only opponent victory in the lone game in the series that wasn't played in December with a 66-50 defeat.
After skipping the 2020-21 campaign as the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the schedule, the series returned in December 2021 with the first of three straight victories over Tennessee Wesleyan.
The attendance started with a modest 1,778 in the 2017 contest, but has grown steadily with a series-high of 5,887 last season. In contrast, that's twice as many as were in attendance earlier this week in Colorado when the Buffaloes hosted the Golden Eagles for their second-annual Field Trip Day with an announced attendance of 2,734
Meanwhile, this is technically just the second official meeting between Tech and the University of the Cumberlands. While the two teams did face each other in a preseason exhibition before the start of the 2019-20 campaign, you have to go back to November 14, 1979, for the only regular-season matchup between the Golden Eagles and the Patriots.
Tech won the 1979 meeting 107-36 as Holly Hoover collected a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Pam Chambers added 15 points, Carmen Dowdell and Jerilynn Harper chipped in 12 and Marilyn Jones scored 10. The Golden Eagles forced 33 Cumberlands turnovers and shot a scorching 59.4 percent as they knocked down 44 buckets on 74 tries before the 3-point era began.
In the 2019 exhibition contest, Jordan Brock, Kesha Brady and Maaliya Owens combined for 51 points as Tech won 85-59.
But make no mistake – this Patriots team is not the same as the Golden Eagles have faced before. The current incarnation of the University of the Cumberlands team is currently ranked seventh nationally among the NAIA and has spent three straight weeks among the association's elite Top 10.
Coming into the game with a six-game winning streak, UC has posted a 10-1 record. However, neither one of those will change depending on what happens Friday as this game is an exhibition contest for the Patriots, meaning the game will not count against them while it is a regular-season game for the Golden Eagles.
The one loss for the Patriots this season was a 90-84 defeat at Huntington in Indiana.
UC is averaging an amazing 93.7 points per game, outscoring their opponents by a gaudy 27.7-points per game. From the field, the Patriots shoot .467, while completing .402 from 3-point range with an average of 8.2 per game. They can get to the free-throw line often as well, averaging 16.8 makes per game at a 71-percent clip.
The Patriots also aren't afraid to go after the ball as they average 48.8 rebounds, 10.9 steals and 3.3 blocks per game.
The top two players for Cumberlands also share a Tennessee Tech connection as Kaylie and Kassie Monday are the nieces of Golden Eagle legend Shawn Monday with the senior leaders hailing from nearby Clarkrange. Kaylie Monday leads the team in scoring and rebounding with a 17.6 and 6.9 average respectively. Kassie Monday is averaging 14.7 points, while Lakin Burke and Joy Kendrick are both in double-digit scoring averages with 13.2 and 10.5 points each.
Kassie Monday leads the team in assists with 84, while Kaylie Monday has the team lead in steals with 34. Zaram Fredricks has a team-best 12 blocks.
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles enter the game with a 5-3 record. Despite coming up short against the Big 12 Buffaloes, Tech stood tall against their Power 4 sisters in a 91-79 decision – the most points the Golden Eagles have scored against a power program since the 2001-02 season with 85 points against Mississippi State.
It was a strong showing against the Buffaloes as the Golden Eagles got 26 points from Reghan Grimes with 15 from Keeley Carter and 14 against Peyton Carter.
For the season, Tech is averaging 68.1 points per game and allowing 62.3, while shooting .419 from the field, .342 from 3-point range and .716 at the line.
Grimes leads the team in scoring with 14.0 per game, with Peyton Carter at 12.3 and Taris Thornton at 10.4. Anna Walker has the top mark in rebounds with an 8.0-board average and also leads the squad in blocks with 16. Grimes leads the team with 19 steals, while Peyton Carter has the most assists with 28.
The Golden Eagles are averaging 39.3 rebounds, 6.9 3-pointers, 13.3 made free-throws and 15.1 assists per game.
After Friday's contest, Tech will be idle for the next week as final exams and the winter commencement are held. The Golden Eagles then open Ohio Valley Conference play on the road with games at Western Illinois and Lindenwood on Dec. 17 and 19 before returning home Jan. 2 to take on Southern Indiana.
Tickets are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
