Tech looks to keep momentum rolling at Jacksonville State
January 18, 2019

Tech looks to keep momentum rolling at Jacksonville State

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Tennessee Tech women’s basketball’s ‘process’ just keeps churning out wins. After three straight home games grew its winning streak to eight in a row, Tech will now look to keep the positive juices flowing at Jacksonville State, the first of three consecutive road tilts for TTU. Tip time from JSU’s Pete Mathews Coliseum is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.

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By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Tennessee Tech women's basketball's 'process' just keeps churning out wins.

After three straight home games grew its winning streak to eight in a row, Tech will now look to keep the positive juices flowing at Jacksonville State, the first of three consecutive road tilts for TTU. Tip time from JSU's Pete Mathews Coliseum is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.

QUEENS OF THE ROAD

Tech takes its league-best 5-2 road record to Jacksonville, a mark based largely on TTU's dominance in Nashville (3-0, wins over Lipscomb, Tennessee State and Belmont). The other highlight was a 55-45 triumph at Wichita State, a member of the American Athletic Conference.

NIFTY 'NACI

Anacia Wilkinson has starred for the Golden Eagles as of late, averaging 14 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5 blocked shots over her last three games with a pair of double-doubles.

Wilkinson reminded everyone of her elite shot-blocking ability on Wednesday, recording a career-high nine blocks, which tied the Tech school record, and tied for the fourth-best single-game showing in NCAA Division I this year.

Her monstrous effort moved her into a tie for sixth in the country in blocked shots with 48, and entered her into the top 10 on Tech's all-time career list (92).

Since conference play began, Wilkinson leads the league in field goal percentage (62.2%) in addition to blocks, and is seventh in rebounding at 8.0 per game.

CASHING 'EM IN

TTU's most impressive stat may be from the free throw line, where it is tied for the lead in the conference at 75.4 percent, and leads by itself in OVC games at 79.3 percent.

With 270 made free throws this season, Tech places sixth in the country, its highest national ranking in any statistical category.

SHARING THE ROCK

Tech also leads the league in assists over the conference season at 16.4 per game.

Akia Harris and Kentoria Alexander have been the catalysts in that operation. Harris clips at 6.6 helpers per conference game, nearly 1.5 more than any other player, and Alexander sits third at 4.6.

With 18 assists over her last two games, Harris now leads the OVC in assists per game for the season at 5.2. Those numbers put her into the program's top 20 for assists in a career as well, as she sits at No. 18 with 307.

ALL SYSTEMS GO

Tech owns the OVC's highest scoring average during conference play with 80 points per tilt over its five contests. With a season rate of 72.9 per game, the Golden Eagles are 69th out of 349 Division I programs.

JACKSONVILLE STATE PROFILE

Jacksonville State has played in the Ohio Valley Conference since the 2003-04 season, and has compiled a 102-163 record.

JSU has never won an OVC regular-season or tournament title. Its highest finish came in its first season, when it posted an 11-5 league record for third place. It also took fourth place in 2004-05 and 2014-15.

Coach Rick Pietri's team won 12 league games last year, and narrowly missed a 20-win campaign with an overall ledger of 19-12.

This year's team is 8-8, with a 2-3 mark in the conference. The Gamecocks have been a better team away from Pete Mathews Coliseum this season, as they share the league's best road record with Tech at 5-2. The most notable of those road victories is a 60-49 decision at Ole Miss.

Jacksonville State is built on defense. The Gamecocks rank No. 1 in the OVC in both scoring and field goal percentage defense, giving up a stingy 57.2 points and 34.9 FG% per contest.

On the flipside, they're 11th in scoring offense with 58.4 points per game.

JSU is also the best rebounding team in the conference, based largely on the play of 6-2 forward Rayven Pearson, who ranks second among OVC rebounders with 9.0 per game.

Pearson leads the team in field goal percentage (.479), and is the Gamecocks' second leading scorer at 9.9 points per game, following Destiney Elliott's 11.1.

Elliott paces the club in steals (19), and is second in assists (34) and rebounds per game (5.6).

Freshman guard Yamia Johnson is the team's best 3-point shooter, clipping at 33.3 percent (26-of-78).

A tight game in the late stages could favor the Golden Eagles, as the Gamecocks are the league's worst free throw shooting team at 60.9%.

SERIES NOTES

Tech has won 21 of its 31 meetings with Jacksonville State, which have all come during Ohio Valley Conference play. 

The teams traded season sweeps over the first four matchups, as Tech won both dates in 2004, and JSU in 2005.

Starting the following season, TTU took control of the series, winning 16 of the next 17 by an average victory margin of 16 points.

Tech's lone loss in that span, which stretched into the 2013-14 season, came in Cookeville, 69-65, on Feb. 7, 2008.

JSU would take the second and third meetings in 2014, and would then string together three more victories in a row for a total of five. 

That streak was snapped on Feb. 13, 2016 when Tech prevailed, 51-49, in the only overtime game the series has seen. Samaria Howard had five points in the extra session and 25 in the game to lead Tech to victory that day.

Kim Rosamond has split four games vs. JSU. She won her first encounter in memorable fashion, 56-54, on Jan. 14, 2017, when a Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson jump shot with four second left decided the game.

Tech scored another two-point victory the following season, winning in Jacksonville, 60-58 on Feb. 8, 2018. Mackenzie Coleman scored 12 points and Jordan Brock had 10 in support of Hickson's game-high 21.

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Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information