By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team will finish out its first go-through of Ohio Valley Conference opponents this week as the Golden Eagles travel to Tennessee State on Thursday and UT Martin on Saturday.
Tipoff against the Tigers on Thursday is 5 p.m. with Dylan Vazzano providing the call on 106.1 The Eagle, while the game will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Tennessee State picked up its first OVC victory of the season on Tuesday night as the Tigers topped the Skyhawks 77-61 to improve to 5-14 on the season and 1-8 in the league. UT Martin fell to 7-13 overall and 4-5 in the conference.
The Tigers outscored UTM 29-17 in the third to make it a 45-30 game at the intermission. The Skyhawks rallied in the third by outscoring TSU 20-5 to even the game out at 50 points each. However, in the fourth quarter, TSU earned its first league win by outpacing UTM 27-11 in the final 10 minutes as Somah Kamara scored 13 points in the quarter on 5-for-7 shooting.
It was not a good shooting night for the Skyhawks as UTM finished the game shooting 29.2 with sub-30-percent posts in three of the four quarters and a 15.8-percent clip from 3-point range. Conversely, TSU shot 40.0 percent in the first, 61.1 percent in the second and 52.6 percent in the third quarter for a torrid 48.3-percent pace. The Tigers knocked down eight of their 21 3-point tries, while the Skyhawks struggled from long range, hitting three of their 19 tries at 15.8 percent.
Anaya Brown led UTM with 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting, while Shae Littleford had 13 and Kaitlyn McCarn had 10. The trio combined for 12-for-13 at the free-throw line as the Skyhawks were 20-for-25 at the stripe, eclipsing TSU's 11-for-19 on gimmes.
The Skyhawks, however, were able to force the Tigers into 28 turnovers in the contest, converting into 32 points. But TSU dominated on the glass 48-35 with both teams collecting 17 offensive boards and the Tigers blocking 11 shots with Saniah Parker and Erin Martin each swatting away three.
Kamara ended the game with 20 points, while XaiOnna Whitfield scored 16 on 6-for-7 shooting and Saniah Parker had 11. Kiki Roberts led TSU in rebounds with 12, while Aaniya Webb picked up 10.
For the season, TSU averages 63.7 points per game, while allowing 74.0 points a night – Tuesday being a stark reversal of that trend. As a team, the Tigers are shooting .373 from the floor, .249 from 3-point range with an average of 5.3 long-rangers a night, as well as .593 from the free-throw line with an average of 12.8 makes per game.
The Tigers have four players averaging in double-figure scoring, led by Kamara with a 14.6-point clip, and followed by Webb (13.1), Sanaa' St. Andre (11.2) and Parker (11.0). Lyric Cole leads TSU on rebounds with a 7.9-board average, while Parker has a team-best 48 assists and 36 steals and Jada Collins has a team-best 16 blocks.
TSU is aggressive and speedy, leading to 10.4 steals a game and 18.5 forced turnovers a game, but it also leads the Tigers to an average of 19.7 turnovers a night.
Tech, meanwhile, stands in a tie for second-place in the OVC, posting a 12-5 overall record and 6-2 in the league. The Golden Eagles are 8-0 at home in the Eblen Center, but have a 4-5 record on the road this season. Tech has won seven of its last 10 games.
As a team, the Golden Eagles are allowing 69.1 points and 62.4 points per game, while shooting .422 from the field, .350 from 3-point range and .725 at the free-throw line. Tech averages 7.1 3-pointers and 14.3 made free throws a night.
Reghan Grimes leads Tech's trio of double-digit average scorers with 13.1 points per game, while Peyton Carter is averaging 11.6 and Chloe Larry 11.1. Keeley Carter, who was selected as the OVC Co-Newcomer of the Week, is close with a 9.9-point average, but has been the Golden Eagles' leading scorer in conference play, averaging 13.4 points per game in league play.
Anna Walker is the team's leading rebounder (6.7 rpg) and shot blocker (28 total), while Peyton Carter has a team-best 64 assists and Taris Thornton leads the way with 31 steals.
Following Thursday's contest in Nashville, the Golden Eagles travel to UT Martin on Friday, then heads to Morehead State and Southern Indiana next week. Tech returns home on Feb. 6 to take on SIUE.
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
