OVC Basketball Media Guide
Tennessee Tech has been picked to win the 2011-12 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball title in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors. The Golden Eagles earned 193 points, including 13 first-place votes, while UT Martin is selected to finish second garnering nine first-place nods. Eastern Illinois picked up 159 points for a predicted third place finished followed by Austin Peay with 142 points to finish fourth. Rounding out the poll are Morehead State (133 points), Murray State (88 points), Tennessee State (82 points), SIUE (73 points), Jacksonville State (72 points) and Eastern Kentucky (47 points) and Southeast Missouri (34 points).
Tennessee Tech is coming off a season in which it went 23-8 overall and 15-3 in Conference play en route to its 16th OVC regular-season title. The Golden Eagles made its first trip to the championship game of the league tournament since 2006 last season, where it lost to second-seeded UT Martin, 82-76. Tech earned the league's automatic bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament and fell to Auburn, 68-54. Sytia Messer, the reigning OVC Coach of the Year, enters her third year at the helm of the Golden Eagles and will return the entire starting lineup from last year's squad. Among the starters returning is 2010-11 Co-Defensive Player of the Year senior guard Tacarra Hayes. The Lebanon, Ky., native was tabbed the 2011-12 OVC Preseason Player of the year after averaging 16.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists to be ranked among league leaders. Senior center Brittany Darling will also be back this year after starting ever game last season. The Curtice, Ohio native recorded 7.6 points per game and a team-leading 29 blocks.
UT Martin went 21-11 overall and 14-4 in the OVC to finish second. The Skyhawks claimed their first OVC Tournament title with a 82-76 win over top-seeded Tennessee Tech in the championship game. UT Martin made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year as they fell to Duke in the first round. Head coach Kevin McMillan, who enters his third year at UTM, will have four of his five starters back from last year. The Skyhawks will once again have just one senior on the squad this year in guard Taylor Hall. Hall, a native of Mount Juliet, Tenn., recorded 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last year. Among the other top returnees are sophomore guards Heather Butler and Jasmine Newsome. Butler, a native of Medina, Tenn., was named the 2010-11 OVC Freshman of the Year after putting up 19.0 point per game. She ended the season as the nation's top scoring freshman. A product of Millington, Tenn., Newsome earned 2011-12 Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors. She recorded a team-high 70 steals last year to go along with 17.6 points per game to rank among league leaders.
Eastern Illinois finished tied for third in the OVC last year with a 13-5 league mark while going 18-13 overall. Head coach Brady Sallee is in his eighth year at the helm of the Panthers and will return all five of his starters from last season. Returning this year will be both of EIU's 2010-11 All-OVC selections in junior guard Ta'Kenya Nixon and junior forward Mariah King. Nixon,a native of Michigan City, Ind., led the team in points per game (15.9), assists per game (5.0) and steals per game (1.7) last year while also pulling down 6.5 rebounds each time out to finish second on the squad. A product of Chicago, Ill., King was second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.4 points while registering 5.0 rebounds per contest. The Panthers led the league in free throw percentage (73.9%) and field goal percentage (69.9) while ranking third with 69.9 points per game last year.
SIUE will be playing a full Conference schedule this year for the first time since joining the league in 2008. The Cougars will be eligible for the regular-season title this year and will be able to participate in postseason play in 2013.
The 2011-12 campaign kicks off with Morehead State hosting Kentucky Christian in an exhibition game on Nov. 3. The regular-season begins on Nov. 11 with Conference play starting on Dec. 28. Nine different teams have won a regular-season title with Tennessee Tech leading the way with 16.
2011-12 All-OVC Preseason Women's Basketball Team
The 2011-12 Preseason All-OVC team is headlined by Tennessee Tech senior guard Tacarra Hayes who was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year after being tabbed OVC Co-Defensive Player of the Year last year.
The preseason squad features players from seven different teams. UT Martin, Eastern Illinois, Murray State and Morehead State each have a pair of selections while Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay and Eastern Kentucky have one pick each. Four members of the team were selected to the All-OVC first team last year while five earned second team honors and two were on the All-Newcomer squad.
Hayes was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Year last year and was a first team All-OVC selection. Last year, she recorded a team-leading 53 steals last year while also putting up 16.9 points per game to rank fourth in the OVC. The Lebanon, Ky., native ranked second in the league with 145 assists and sixth with 7.5 rebounds per game.
In addition to Hayes, UT Martin's Heather Butler (19.0 ppg, 2.7 3-PT field goals per game) and Jasmine Newsome (17.6 ppg, 4.0 apg); and Eastern Illinois' Ta'Kenya Nixon (15.9 ppg, 5.0 apg) were each All-OVC first team picks last year and earned spots on the Preseason All-Conference team this year.
Rounding out the preseason squad are Morehead State's Ashar Harris (14.1 ppg, 12.3 rpg) and Courtney Lumpkin (14.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg); Murray State's Mariah Robinson (15.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and Jessica Winfrey (10.6 ppg, 9.7 rpg); Eastern Illinois' Mariah King (13.4 ppg, 48.8 FG%); Austin Peay's Whitney Hanley (12.2 ppg, 81.6 FT%); and Eastern Kentucky's Alex Jones (14.1 ppg, 9.0 rpg).
2011-12 OVC Women's Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
(Selected by OVC Head Basketball Coaches and Sports Information Directors)
1. Tennessee Tech (13 first-place votes) - 193
2. UT Martin (Nine first-place votes) - 187
3. Eastern Illinois - 159
4. Austin Peay - 142
5. Morehead State - 133
6. Murray State - 88
7. Tennessee State - 82
8. SIUE - 73
9. Jacksonville State - 72
10. Eastern Kentucky - 47
11. Southeast Missouri - 34
(*Schools were not allowed to rank their own team. 10 points awarded for a first-place vote, nine for second, etc.)
2011-12 Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Women's Basketball Team
(Selected by OVC Head Basketball Coaches and Sports Information Directors)
Preseason OVC Player of the Year: Tacarra Hayes, Tennessee Tech
Tacarra Hayes, Tennessee Tech
Heather Butler, UT Martin
Ta'Kenya Nixon, Eastern Illinois
Jasmine Newsome, UT Martin
Ashar Harris, Morehead State
Mariah King, Eastern Illinois
Whitney Hanley, Austin Peay
Mariah Robinson, Murray State
Alex Jones, Eastern Kentucky
Courtney Lumpkin, Morehead State
Jessica Winfrey, Murray State