RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky will return to Ohio Valley Conference play on Saturday when Tennessee Tech visits McBrayer Arena. The game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. The Lady Colonels (7-4, 2-2 OVC) are coming off a third place finish at the Saint Peter’s College Holiday Tournament. The Golden Eagles (1-11, 0-2 OVC) will face Austin Peay on Thursday before making the trip to Richmond.

Senior guard Niki Avery, playing across the river from her hometown of New York City, scored a career-high 33 points to lead EKU to a 100-62 win over Penn on Sunday in the third place game at the Saint Peter’s tournament. Avery made nine three-pointers in the game and added eight assists, six steals and five rebounds to her totals.

EKU’s 16 three-pointers nearly matched Penn’s total of 18 field goals. The Lady Colonels’ 38 field goals more than doubled the Quakers’ total. Eastern Kentucky took advantage of 29 Penn turnovers, outscoring the Quakers 43-10 off turnovers.

Crystal Jones contributed 21 points to the Lady Colonel cause. LaTanya Stokes scored an EKU career-best 16 points and grabbed seven boards.

With less than four minutes left in the first half, Eastern Kentucky rolled off seven straight points which included a five-point play by Avery. The senior nailed her fifth three-pointer of the first half and then was fouled immediately after her shot. With the team in the bonus situation, she converted both attempts at the line.

Avery had 17 points at halftime after making five of nine three-point attempts and both of her attempts from the free throw line. Avery had only one less field goal than the entire Penn team.

Penn never threatened in the second half. Eastern scored 11 unanswered points in the span of one minute to build a 40-point lead late in the second half. Avery sank three three-pointers during the run. Her final trey, with 48 seconds left in the game, capped the run and pushed Eastern to the century mark with a 100-60 lead.

Avery’s 11 field goals in the game were two more than she had in the previous four games combined. Her performance earned a spot on the all-tournament team. In two tournament games, Avery totaled 40 points, 12 assists, nine steals and nine rebounds.

Her nine three-pointers came up just one short of tying the Ohio Valley Conference record.

Since opening the season with a 74-58 win on the road against Memphis, Tennessee Tech has lost 11 straight heading into Thursday’s game against Austin Peay.

During its 11-game losing streak, TTU has lost five games by six points or less, including an overtime loss at Eastern Illinois.

Senior center Kristina Tyler leads the team in scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg). She has made 48.8 percent of her shots from the field. Meagan Lyons is the only other Golden Eagle with a double-digit scoring average at 10.5 points per game.

TTU is averaging just 60.1 points per game as a team and has been held under 60 points on six occasions. The Golden Eagles have struggled from beyond the three-point line, making just 26.8 percent of their three-point attempts.