Coach Jim Davis announces 2015-16 season schedule
The time has come! Tennessee Tech women’s basketball coach Jim Davis has announced the Golden Eagles’ 2015-16 schedule.
Click here for the 2015-16 Schedule
By: Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The time has come! Tennessee Tech women's basketball coach Jim Davis has announced the Golden Eagles' 2015-16 schedule. The season will open with two home exhibition games, followed by four home games, before the women's team goes on the road to Northern Kentucky.
"The NCAA allows us two exhibition games or an exhibition game and a closed scrimmage," commented head coach Jim Davis. "We chose, because we have so many new faces, to get as many game-like situations as we can, thus the two exhibition games this year. Then, we open with four straight home games, so we are going to have a chance to grow up a little bit in the friendly confines of the Eblen Center."
This year, the Golden Eagles will face many strong opponents in their preconference schedule. Opposing teams of Clemson and Louisville will prove to be some of the toughest competitors Tech will face.
"Louisville will be a very challenging game because they are one of the top teams in the country," remarked Davis. "Jeff Wallz does a tremendous job. We are fortunate that they needed a game in Tennessee, and I am happy we could work it out."
Tech's schedule is highlighted by numerous home games, which will be a change of pace from last year's schedule, which featured mostly away games.
"Thank goodness!" commented Davis, "We were on the road more than asphalt last year. We are happy to be playing at home, and we are happy to be playing a very challenging schedule in terms of facing some of the elite teams in women's basketball. I think our young ladies will be excited for that when the time comes to face some of those top basketball teams in the country."
The Golden Eagles first conference matchup will be against Eastern Illinois. Last year, Tech fell to the Panthers 67-59 in its conference opener, as the Golden Eagles were unable to recover from an early EIU lead.
However, a new year means new changes for this Golden Eagle team.
"Hopefully we are going to implement a lot of differences," declared Davis. "We have eight new faces that haven't worn the purple and gold, but yet at the same time many of them are transfers from junior colleges or four-year institutions, so they are experienced college players. Not necessarily at the Division I level, but at the collegiate level."
Coach Davis is optimistic heading into the 2015-16 season.
"Hopefully, everything will fall into place there," stated Davis. "We learned our lesson and have grown as a basketball team, and hopefully we can succeed once we get into the OVC tournament and then the NCAA tournament."
Returning to the Golden Eagles squad this season is senior, Samaria Howard. Last season, Howard played in all 29 of Tech's games and served as the leading scorer for the Golden Eagles. Howard averaged 15.6 points per game and shot 40.2-percent from the field. Howard hit the 20+ point mark seven times in the 2014-15 season, and scored in double-figures in 25 of Tech's 29 games. Howard finished the season with an impressive 81.3-percent mark from the free throw line and earned a place on the all-OVC Second Team, as well as was named to the All-Newcomer team and as an Adidas® New Comer of the Week on three occasions.
"I think we've got very good depth," Davis remarked. "We will play a lot of players. We want to keep them fresh. We want to defend like we've never defended before at my time here at Tennessee Tech, and I think we've built our team on that, and so we are going to take advantage of that depth that we have and the athleticism that we have."
Tech will open play on November 7, with a home exhibition game against Tennessee Wesleyan. The Golden Eagles will begin regular season play on November 14, featuring a double header against Arkansas State in the Eblen Center. The first conference match-up for Tech will be against Eastern Illinois on December 31 at home.
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