With basketball season around the corner, the women’s team is looking to build off of a solid performance last year.
In head coach Jim Davis’s first season at Tech, the team finished the regular season as Ohio Valley Conference champions. They would, however, lose the OVC championship to UT-Martin. The success of last year’s season has the Golden Eagles feeling confident about this year’s campaign. Women’s basketball head coach Jim Davis really wants his team to be goal oriented.
“Our theme for this year is 21-1-2, we want to win 21 games, win the OVC tournament, and win 2 games in the NCAA tournament,” said Davis.
The women’s basketball team has a lot of talent returning for them. Pre-season all conference Diamond Henderson and Molly Heady are among the returning stars for Tech. This year’s edition of the team also showcases great size with five players over six feet tall: Tia Nicholson, Kayla Brewer, T’Keyah Williams, Candace Parson, and Mariah Dean.
“We are very blessed to have 5 ladies who are 6 foot 2 inches or taller,” said Jim Davis. “This is good in any division. They are not only big, but they are athletic. If they play as hard as we expect them to, it will be strength.”
One of the most important aspects that will help Tech is leadership.
“We have a lot of young faces including young guards,” said senior forward Molly Heady. “I really want to be a source of leadership.”
Despite the rough schedule, the team is still confident they can succeed.
The schedule includes an early season challenge against the Southeastern Conference’s Mississippi State on Nov. 21. and Dec. 20 against Arkansas.
The team will also face former OVC rival Middle Tennessee State University on Jan. 2. This contest will take place in Murfreesboro. The battle is guaranteed to be intense between two schools that are only a few hours apart.
The team will also travel to Las Vegas for the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout in Las Vegas. While they are out west, the Golden Eagles will take on Marquette University and Ball State University. Davis views this tough schedule as an advantage.
