By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The business trip has begun for the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team. Now nestled in their housing in Columbia, Thursday will be a busy day as the Golden Eagles begin preparation for their biggest task yet – trying to take down defending national champion South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
The game is set for a 3 p.m. Central/4 p.m. Eastern start time on Friday. The game will be carried locally on 106.1 The Eagle with Dylan Vazzano and Frank Harrell on the call, while Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck will handle broadcast duties on ESPN (also streaming on ESPN+ with cable subscription).
With South Carolina holding the No. 1-seed in the Birmingham Regional, the Golden Eagles know they have a tough challenge ahead. While Tech has the most wins from the Ohio Valley Conference in the NCAA Tournament with four, no team from the OVC has beaten a No. 1-seed in seven meetings. Friday will be Tech's third meeting with a top seed, including a 1982 contest against eventual national champion Louisiana Tech and a loss to No. 1 Indiana in the Golden Eagles' last appearance in 2023.
The 16 over 1 win is so rare in March Madness that it's only happened once in the women's tournament as Harvard beat Stanford in 1998. It didn't happen in the men's tournament until 2018 with Maryland-Baltimore County topping Virginia, then again in 2023 with FDU over Purdue.
However, it has happened and isn't impossible. Like the 300 Spartans in Thermopylae, the Golden Eagles aren't going down without a fight.
The Golden Eagles have put together a historic season to even get to this point:
- A 17-game winning streak – tied for the third-longest in program history and the longest since winning 18 straight games in 2000-01. It is currently the seventh-longest active winning streak in Division I.
- Winning both the OVC regular-season and tournament championship for the eighth time, but the first since 1999-2000.
- The 19th regular-season title and 11th tournament crown with a new banner to hang in the Hooper Eblen Center rafters.
- The 26 wins at present are the fourth-most in a single season and the most since 1989-90.
- The 18 conference regular-season wins tied the 2017-18 Belmont team for the OVC record for most league wins in a single season.
- The 31st 20+ win season and seventh 25+ win season in program history.
No matter what happens on Friday, the 2024-25 Golden Eagles have already assured a spot as one of the top teams in Tennessee Tech history.
Why not add another feather to that cap?
Looking at the 30-3 Gamecocks, the team is averaging 80.5 points per game, the 11th most in the country. They allow 57.8 points per game. USC shoots .465 from the field, .328 from long range and .765 at the line, averaging 5.7 3-pointers and 13.2 free throws made. The Gamecocks force an average of 16.8 turnovers, stealing 9.5 times a game and block 5.7 shots per game.
Joyce Edwards averages a team-best 13.2 points per game, while MiLaysia Fulwiley averages 12.0 points and Chloe Kitts 10.1. Kitts also averages a team-best 7.9 rebounds, while Te-Hina Paopao leads the squad with 99 assists. Sania Feagin has 51 blocks and Fulwiley has 52 steals.
South Carolina has won its last seven games and had a 17-game winning streak with its only losses of the season coming against UCLA in November as well as Texas and UConn in February. The Gamecocks won both the Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament championships and are looking for their fourth national championship to go along with titles in 2017, 2022 and 2024.
Entering Friday, the Golden Eagles (26-5) are averaging 72.0 points and allowing 62.1 per game, shooting .428 from the field, .362 from long range and .768 at the line. Tech averages 7.6 3-pointers and 16.1 free throws per game, while forcing 16.0 turnovers with 8.2 steals and 4.5 blocks per game.
Tech has four players – Reghan Grimes (12.9 ppg), Keeley Carter (12.3 ppg), Chloe Larry (11.7 ppg) and Peyton Carter (11.5 ppg) – averaging double figures, though Anna Walker (9.9 ppg) and Taris Thornton (9.6 ppg) round up to make it six. All six of them averaged double digits in the OVC Basketball Championships.
The Golden Eagles have not lost since January 9.
File photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
