COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team is already assured of a share of the Ohio Valley Conference's regular-season championship. 

 

The thing is… they really don't want to share.

 

Still remembering a tough night in St. Charles back in December, the Golden Eagles look to close out the regular season with a victory on Saturday as Lindenwood comes into the Eblen Center.

 

Tipoff for the game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Dylan Vazzano and Steve Smith will have the call on ESPN+ (subscription required), while Roger Ealey and Marcelo Metzelar will narrate the action on 106.1 The Eagle.

 

It's all simple at this point – with a win, Tennessee Tech will claim the OVC title outright and be the No. 1 seed in next week's OVC Basketball Championships in Evansville. With a loss, the Golden Eagles will be the No. 2 seed. Either way, Tech won its 19th regular-season championship in program history and will have a double-bye in the annual postseason event.

 

But it's what happened back in December that has the Golden Eagles determined. Visiting Lindenwood for the second conference game of the slate, the host Lions put together a 67-54 victory, using a 20-for-23 effort at the free-throw line as the Golden Eagles were whistled for 19 fouls to create separation between the two teams.

 

After a 15-15 first quarter, Lindenwood held the Golden Eagles to eight points in the second quarter to take a 29-23 lead, then outscored Tech 25-15 to make it a 16-point advantage. The Golden Eagles outscored Lindenwood 16-13 in the fourth, but it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit.

 

Ellie Bruggemann led Lindenwood with 14 points, while Mya Skoff and Gracy Wernli each scored 12 and Brooke Coffey and Mykayla Cunningham each chipped in 11. Keeley Carter led the Golden Eagles with 15 points and Reghan Grimes scored 13.

 

Lindenwood would fall to Eastern Illinois two games later, then Southern Indiana on Jan. 16 before rolling up 11 straight conference wins to go neck-and-neck with the Golden Eagles for the last few weeks. That all changed Tuesday as the Lions went into Macomb only to see Western Illinois snap their winning streak with Skoff and Wernli seeing their nights cut short after five fouls.

 

WIU led by as many as 17 points and Lindenwood tried to rally late as the Leatherneck's Raegan McCowan fouled out, but the hosts were able to hold off the Lions.

 

The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, have not lost since January 9 at Eastern Illinois, claiming 14 straight victories and 17 at home stretching back to February of last season. With a 23-5 record overall, Tech is within reach of its most ever wins in a season with the top standing as 28 under Marynell Meadors in 1975-76 and 1976-77. The current total of 23 is tied for the 11th most wins in a single season in program history, while the 17 conference wins is the most in Tech history and tied with the 2007-08 Southeast Missouri, 2022-23 Little Rock and 2023-24 Southern Indiana teams for the second-most in conference history. A win Saturday will tie them with the 2017-18 Belmont team for the most in a single year.

 

As for the rest of the standings, Eastern Illinois has a lock on third at 14-5. Southern Indiana and Little Rock are tied at 12-7 and will finish either fourth or fifth depending on Saturday's action with Little Rock traveling to SIUE and Southern Indiana visiting Tennessee State. UT Martin is sixth at 10-9, while Western Illinois is seventh at 8-12. Tennessee State is tentatively in eighth at 5-14, with Morehead State and Southeast Missouri both at 4-15 looking in. Morehead State is at UT Martin while Southeast Missouri is at Eastern Illinois.

 

Saturday's game is also Senior Day with the team honoring Keeley Carter, Peyton Carter, Taris Thornton, Anna Walker and manager Anna Riggs. The doubleheader Saturday will also feature an appearance by Tennessee Titans cheerleaders and mascot T-Rac.

 

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