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Game Notes

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Last season, Eastern Kentucky’s women’s basketball team went winless in 13 games on the road.  On Saturday at Tennessee Tech, the Lady Colonels will be trying to finish the 2011-12 regular season with a 6-6 road record.

Tip-off in Cookeville is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.  The live radio broadcast of the game is available in the Richmond area on WEKY 1340 AM, and can be heard worldwide on EKUSports.com.  A live video broadcast of the contest is available on OVCSports.TV.

The Lady Colonels surpassed last season’s win total (6-21) with seven victories in its first 14 games and doubled its number of wins from a year ago with a 76-68 victory over Morehead State last Saturday.  EKU has more than doubled its number of OVC victories from last season (3-15).

Eastern enters Saturday’s contest 12-12 overall and 7-6 in the OVC.  Tennessee Tech is 13-15 and 9-5 in league games.  TTU is fourth and EKU is fifth in the conference standings, but with SIU Edwardsville not eligible for postseason play, both teams are vying for the No. 3 seed in the OVC tournament.

The Lady Colonels control their own destiny.  If EKU wins its three remaining regular season games, the team will be the three seed in the OVC tournament, have a first round bye, and play the winner of the No. 6 versus No. 7 game.  However, the lady Colonels are also in danger of falling to the seventh seed if they fail to win another game.  A win by TTU on Saturday would allow the Golden Eagles to clinch the No. 3 seed.

In its last game, after falling behind by nine early in the second half, Eastern Kentucky used a strong second half performance to dispatch Morehead State by 10.  Alex Jones led Eastern with 17 points to go along with six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.  Brittany Coles added 16 points.  Jade Barber contributed her eighth double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 11 boards.

Saturday’s game is the 81st meeting between the two teams.  Tennessee Tech leads the series 58-22 and has won 11 of the last 14 meetings.  TTU is 31-4 all-time against EKU in Cookeville.  Ten Lady Colonels have faced Tennessee Tech, with four having played more than one game against the Golden Eagles.  Jones has averaged 13.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in five games against TTU.

In the first meeting this season between the teams, Eastern Kentucky led by one before Tennessee Tech went on a 20-5 first half run on its way to an 82-67 victory on January 28.  Tacarra Hayes led TTU with 21 points and 14 rebounds.  Marie Carpenter had a team-best 13 points for the Lady Colonels.

Tennessee Tech has won seven of its last nine.  The Golden Eagles are coming off a 52-51 home-court loss to OVC co-leader Eastern Illinois.  TTU shot 31 percent from the field and 29 percent from behind the arch against EIU.  Jala Harris led Tech with 16 points.  Hayes had four points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Hayes, a senior guard, does it all for Tennessee Tech.  She leads the team in scoring (16.6 ppg), assists (109) and steals (37).  She’s second on the squad in rebounding (5.8 rpg) and blocks (15). 

Harris, a sophomore guard became eligible at the end of the fall semester after transferring from Alabama-Birmingham.  She is averaging 14.4 points per contest.  Brittany Darling, a 6-foot-5 center, is the team’s top rebounder (5.9 rpg) and third leading scorer (8.7 ppg).

As a team, Tech averages 63 points per game and allows 65.  The Golden Eagles have shot 39 percent from the field, 28 percent from three-point range and 71 percent from the free throw line.