Callie Smith
The Golden Eagles take on the road to victory against OVC opponent SIUE Saturday, Jan. 27 to put TTU at .500 in the conference.
It is said that defense wins games, but for this matchup against the Golden Eagles and the Cougars, it may have been the rebounds that secured a win for the purple and gold. Tech beat SIUE in rebounds 44-37. But it was the offensive rebounds that set the Golden Eagles apart and pushed the point differential for a TTU win.
The Golden Eagles doubled its opponent in offensive rebounds with a total of 20. These boards allowed for nearly a third of the Tech team’s total points scored, 21 out of 67. Peyton Carter came off the bench to lead the team in not only overall rebounds, but offensive rebounds as well. Carter logged 27-mins off the bench and scored 10 for the Golden Eagles.
Other game leaders include Maaliya Owens with 16-points, 5-rebounds and 4-assists, Reagan Hurst with 8-points, 5-rebounds and 4-assists, Anna Walker with 13-points, 5-rebounds and 2-assists, and Yaubyron Chambers with 9-points and 4-rebounds.
With a month of play left in the 2023-2024 regular season, the reigning OVC champions sit at 4-4 in the OVC conference with wins averaging at a 9.5 point differential and only a 4 point difference in losses. The numbers show, the Tech team can play with anyone in their conference and another conference championship could be within reach.
The month of February is filled with OVC opponents for the purple and gold. You can catch the Golden Eagles back in The Hooper-Eblen Center on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 5:30 p.m. facing Southern Indiana and on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 1:00 p.m. facing Morehead State. This will be TTU’s second time facing both of its upcoming opponents.
The last time Tech met Southern Indiana was on Jan. 6 on the Screaming Eagles homecourt in Evansville. The Golden Eagles were leading at the half 41-32, but were outscored by Southern Indiana in the second half to lose the battle, 69-66. Payback will be personal for the purple and gold on their home floor this Thursday night.
Come and see what the reigning OVC champions have this season. If you are unable to join the Golden Eagles in Cookeville on Thursday night, all games can be streamed on ESPN+.
