COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team is back in action on Thursday evening as the Golden Eagles return home to take on Southeast Missouri at the Hooper Eblen Center.

 

Tipoff for the game is set for 5:30 p.m. The game is also Academic Excellence Night with $5 admission for all K-8th graders with free face painting and balloon art by Mission Balloon sponsored by Pepsi as well as a poster creation station.

 

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).

 

The Redhawks come into the contest on a four-game losing streak, falling 85-69 at UT Martin, 93-69 to Southern Indiana, 64-61 to Morehead State and a 67-63 loss to Little Rock. SEMO is 4-12 overall with a 2-5 record in Ohio Valley Conference play, posting a 1-6 record on the road this season.

 

SEMO is averaging 63.9 points a game this season while allowing 74.9. The Redhawks are shooting .377 from the floor, .316 from 3-point range and .705 from the free-throw line as they average 7.1 3-pointers and 9.6 free throws made per game.

 

Da'Kariya Jackson leads the team in scoring average with 16.7 points per game, but has only played in the last three games this season scoring 15 points against the Screaming Eagles and the Trojans and 20 against Morehead State. She is also tied with Kennedy Claybrooks for the top rebounding average on the team at 5.0 rebounds a game.

 

Zoe Best is also averaging double-digit scoring with a 15.3-point mark. Lexi McCully has a team-best 43 assists, while Indiya Bowen leads the team with 30 steals and Ainaya Williams with 21 blocks.

 

The Golden Eagles enter Thursday's game with a 10-5 record, 4-2 in the OVC, and are undefeated in the Eblen Center this season with a 6-0 mark. Tech also enters the game with 499 OVC victories all-time in program history, giving the Golden Eagles a chance to claim No. 500 on Thursday to become the first team in the OVC to reach that milestone.

 

Tech has won five of the last seven games and six of the last nine. The Golden Eagles opened up OVC play with a 72-52 victory at Western Illinois, then fell 67-54 at Lindenwood. Tech returned from the holiday break with a big 83-79 victory over defending conference champ Southern Indiana, then topped Morehead State 76-63. After a tough 71-40 loss at Eastern Illinois, the Golden Eagles rebounded with a decisive 74-58 victory at SIUE on Saturday.

 

The Golden Eagles are averaging 68.4 points per game and are allowing 63.1 per game. Tech is shooting .411 from the floor, .352 from 3-point range and .721 from the free-throw line, averaging 7.1 3-pointers and 13.9 free throws made per game.

 

Tech has three double-digit scorers as Reghan Grimes leads the way with a 12.4-point average, followed by Peyton Carter (11.4) and Chloe Larry (11.0). Anna Walker leads the team in rebounds with a 7.0-rebound average. Peyton Carter leads the team in assists with 54, while Grimes leads the team with 29 steals and Walker has a team-best 25 blocks.

 

Taris Thornton (9.6 ppg), Keeley Carter (9.5 ppg) and Walker (8.8) are close to double-digit scoring averages as well.

 

Following Thursday's contest against the Redhawks, the Golden Eagles will host Little Rock on Saturday before heading back on the road next week to take on Tennessee State and UT Martin.

 

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