COLUMBIA, S.C. – On the eve of Tennessee Tech women's basketball meeting up with No. 1-seed South Carolina in the opening round of the NCAA Birmingham Regional, the press conference was a moment of reflection as the Golden Eagles looked back on what got them to this event and what it all took as an investment in themselves and in their teammates.

 

With head coach Kim Rosamond and fifth-year captains Anna Walker and Peyton Carter on the dais, Thursday's press conference felt more like a celebration of what they had accomplished than the typical presser.

 

"It's great to be in Columbia," Rosamond said, "(and I'm) excited to be on this stage with our two fifth-year seniors, Anna Walker and Peyton Carter. Proud of everything that we have accomplished thus far in this season. It's been a historic season at Tennessee Tech, and there's a lot of history at Tennessee Tech in women's basketball. I'm really proud of what this team has accomplished -- seventeen straight wins. In order for us to get here, you not only have to have a great regular season, you've got to go win the tournament, and that's a hard thing to do. What these kids have accomplished, it's hard to do. 

 

"We understand the challenge ahead and understand the assignment ahead. We understand what a great opponent we're going to be facing tomorrow at 4 p.m., but we are also excited, and we embrace the opportunity."

 

The Golden Eagles have worked hard to simulate the loud crowds and they've seen their share of big games in big buildings with big attendances. With South Carolina trying to make a push for an attendance record in Friday's contest, Tech is determined not to be deterred by the environment.

 

"We're the 16-seed coming in and playing the 1, so we understand what that is just in itself, but it's pretty cool," Carter said. "The Hooper Eblen Center holds a lot of people too, and we've packed that place pretty good. But yeah, this is going to be awesome. We've practiced all week with crowd noises in practice, so we try to prepare for that. This is going to be a great test for us. You know how we are -- we are such a connected team on the court anyway. So this will be awesome for us to just stick together, huddle, eye contact, and everything will be big, but we're excited for it."

 

Walker agreed:  "I think the opportunity is really awesome. We're getting to play against the defending national champions, so that's not something a lot of people get to say. I think that we understand that moment, and we understand and kind of know what to expect going in tomorrow, but, yeah, the attendance record -- there's really nothing else you can say about it. But it's going to be really awesome, and we're excited."

 

It's an opportunity that is becoming harder to find as Carter and Walker both elected to return to Tech for their fifth years of eligibility. As the transfer portal becomes bigger and bigger, student-athletes committing themselves to long tenures at their institutions is starting to become less of the norm. The duo didn't even flinch when making their decision even after the 2023-24 campaign wasn't what they expected it to be.

 

"Tennessee Tech, the community, the coaching staff, the team, Mark Wilson -- everybody affiliated with Tennessee Tech -- it's a family," Carter said. "And I think the COVID year is amazing -- how awesome we got another opportunity to play the sports we love with the people we love. But yeah, we won our conference and we had an extra year. Last year, it didn't end the way we wanted it to end. We were kind of unsatisfied, and Anna and I were kind of like, 'We gotta run it back, we gotta come back and do it again.' And so it's just been -- it's been awesome. No regrets. We've had an amazing year with an amazing team, and I'm just very grateful to be here."

 

Walker said, "Yeah, this program has absolutely changed my life. I mean, you look around at the people that are in this room, the girls that are in that locker room -- I would not trade this year for anything in the world. So just being able to, again, like Peyton said, have that extra year to come back and play -- we weren't satisfied with how it ended last year, and we didn't want to end our basketball career on that. So why would we not come back to this awesome program with these awesome coaches and great people in the locker room?"

 

There's no doubt in what the elephant in the room is – No. 16 Tennessee Tech looking for the first 16-1 upset since 1998 against the defending national champions in No. 1 South Carolina. The Gamecocks are tough, disciplined and skilled – how do you solve an equation like that?

 

"Well, I think, you just said it -- that's how you have to approach it," Rosamond said. "We're reading a book together -- The Obstacle Is the Way. It's a great book, and there are a lot of life lessons in it. One of the things it talks about is an algebra equation -- and I don't know about you guys, but I hate math and it is overwhelming to me. When I look at an algebra equation, it's like, 'Oh, my goodness.' But you learn to break it down, right? You learn to break it down in parts, and that's what we've got to do. 

 

"We can't look at it as a 40-minute assignment. We understand that it is, but we've got to break it down into eight five-minute segments and focus on those first five minutes." 

 

Rosamond related the philosophy to a big win by a fellow Tennessee Tech head coach – Football's Bobby Wilder and a major upset over Virginia Tech when he was the head coach at Old Dominion.

 

"Bobby said, 'You've got to treat it like a heavyweight match and just break it up. That's what we're going to do. You hang in, and in those first couple of rounds, you don't get knocked out. You've got to avoid getting knocked out in those first couple of rounds. I have full confidence that our kids are going to come in, and they've not backed down from a challenge all year. 

 

"We understand who they are, but we also understand who we are. We can't forget that -- we talked about that this morning. We can't walk in here and let the crowd make us forget who we are or let South Carolina and their talent and how good they are make us forget who we are. We've got to take it and break it down in those eight five-minute segments and be us as much as we can be tomorrow."

 

Tipoff on Friday is scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern / 3 p.m. Central. Dylan Vazzano and Frank Harrell will have the call on 106.1 The Eagle, while Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck will broadcast the game nationally on ESPN as well as an ESPN+ stream available to cable subscribers.