By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's been a couple of weeks since the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team has entertained the home crowd at the Hooper Eblen Center and it's been an exciting span with the Golden Eagles winning four on the road to extend their winning streak to seven games.
Now back home, Tech hosts SIUE on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. as the Golden Eagles try to extend their home winning streak to 13 games over the last 368 days with the last loss at the Eblen Center coming back on Feb. 3, 2024.
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).
With this past Saturday's victory over defending conference champ Southern Indiana, the Golden Eagles have earned their seventh straight season with double-digit Ohio Valley Conference victories – the longest-such streak in program history. Tech previously had six straight between the 1989-90 to 1994-95 seasons as well as the 1996-97 to 2001-02 years in addition to the current run.
Tech has also already clinched a spot in next month's OVC Basketball Championships in Evansville and enters Thursday night's game just half-a-game back in second in the standings following Eastern Illinois' victory over SIUE on Tuesday night.
Since Tech's 74-58 victory over the Cougars on Jan. 11, SIUE has gone 2-5 with wins over Tennessee State and Morehead State, but has lost the last three games, including a 67-61 defeat in overtime Tuesday night.
K.K. Rodriguez led the Cougars with 17 points, while Ava Stoller scored 12 and Brianna Wooldridge 11. After trailing 19-11 at the end of the first quarter, SIUE outscored the Panthers in the next three quarters with Rodriguez scoring on a driving layup with seven seconds remaining in regulation. Rodriguez cut EIU's advantage down to two points with a jumper with 22 seconds left.
Macy McGlone and Kiyley Flowers both hit a pair of free throws to climb back out by six points across the next 10 seconds to ice the contest with SIUE missing two 3-pointers before the final buzzer sounded.
McGlone had a double-double with 19 points and 15 boards, while Alex Rouse scored 18 points.
The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, will play Eastern Illinois on Saturday in the Eblen Center.
SIUE, on the season, holds a 4-18 record overall with a 2-11 record in OVC play. The team is averaging 62.5 points a game and allowing 72.3, while shooting .369 from the field, .311 from 3-point range and .691 from the free-throw line. The Cougars average 7.5 3-pointers and 10.3 free throws.
Rodriguez leads the team with a 12.9-point average, while Wooldridge has a team-best 4.6-rebound rate. Stoller has a team-best 47 assists, Halle Smith 14 blocks and Rodriguez 27 steals.
Tech (16-5 overall and 10-2 in the OVC) has won seven straight games and is trying to win eight straight for the first time since the 2022-23 campaign. The Golden Eagles won 11 straight in 2019-20, which is the longest winning streak in the Kim Rosamond era, which was the longest winning streak since an 18-game stretch in the 2000-01 season. The program's longest streak is 21 victories back in 1975-76.
The Golden Eagles have four players averaging double-digit scoring, led by Reghan Grimes with a 13.1 mark, followed by Peyton Carter (11.5 ppg), Keeley Carter (11.2 ppg) and Chloe Larry (11.2 ppg), while Taris Thornton (9.3 ppg) and Anna Walker (9.2 ppg) are close behind.
Walker leads the team in rebounds (6.3 rpg) and blocks (39 total). She moved into fifth all-time in program blocks with 129, leaping over Emily Christian (128) and Diane Seng (120) as she recorded a school-record 10 blocks Saturday against Southern Indiana – the only player on either the men's or women's Division I sides to record that total this season.
Peyton Carter has a team-best 74 assists, while Grimes has a top total of 36 steals.
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 | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
