Rosamond named OVC Coach of the Year, Brock nets First Team All-OVC honors
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The 2018-19 season has been one of resurgence for Tennessee Tech women’s basketball, and on Tuesday afternoon, the Ohio Valley Conference underscored that fact, handing out a pair of postseason honors to members of the Golden Eagle program. Kim Rosamond was selected as the league’s Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year, while guard Jordan Brock earned First Team All-OVC. Rosamond becomes TTU’s first Coach of the Year since Sytia Messer was recognized for leading Tech to a regular-season conference title in 2010-11.
By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The 2018-19 season has been one of resurgence for Tennessee Tech women's basketball, and on Tuesday afternoon, the Ohio Valley Conference underscored that fact, handing out a pair of postseason honors to members of the Golden Eagle program.
Kim Rosamond was selected as the league's Women's Basketball Coach of the Year, while guard Jordan Brock earned First Team All-OVC.
Rosamond becomes TTU's first Coach of the Year since Sytia Messer was recognized for leading Tech to a regular-season conference title in 2010-11.
Brock joins Southeast Missouri's Tesia Thompson as one of two underclassmen to make First Team, and is the second Golden Eagle to do so under Rosamond's tutelage, joining Yaktavia Hickson in 2016-17.
"There has been such dedication and work by so many in our program over the last three years, and this is an acknowledgment and credit to an outstanding group of players and devoted coaching staff who came to Tech to make a difference," said Rosamond on the award. "You are only as good as the people around you, and I am surrounded by one of the best staffs in the business, who challenge and make me better every day."
Ever since stepping on campus in March 2016, Rosamond has predicated her Tech program on 'the process': a daily commitment to improvement evaluated by internal growth rather than wins and losses.
Now in her third year, that growth has morphed into tangible results, as the Golden Eagles completed the regular season with a 20-9 record – the first 20-win campaign since 2010-11 – and a 12-6 standing in the OVC.
The 2018-19 squad has posted 13 more wins than its 2017-18 counterpart (7-22), equating to the second-largest increase in wins in NCAA Division I this season (VCU, 14).
Tech won nine true road games on the year, and with a mark of 9-5 in enemy territory, took the league's second-best record. Adding further credence to the exponential growth under Rosamond, the nine wins away from home are nearly double the combined total from the coach's first two seasons (5).
The 12 conference wins tie the 2012-13 team for the most since 2010-11.
Among the season highlights was a trio of victories over in-state rivals Belmont, Middle Tennessee and UT Martin, which made Rosamond the first Tech coach since Marynell Meadors in 1979-80 to beat all three in the same campaign.
The Louisville, Miss. native has overseen substantial increases in nearly every statistical category this season, highlighted by a scoring offense that has produced 70.6 points per game after a combined 61.1 per game over the first two years of her tenure.
"At the end of the day, players drive winning programs, and what these young women have accomplished in a short amount of time on and off the court has been inspiring," expressed Rosamond. "I am honored to be their coach."
Brock was one of the players most responsible for Tech's offensive improvement, finishing the regular season as the team's leading scorer with 12.0 points per game, and its most prolific 3-point shooter with 73 made triples, which is the fifth-highest single-season total in TTU program history.
The Harlan, Ky. native caught fire during the middle of the season, scoring in double figures in 11 straight games from December 21 to January 31. Six of those outings saw her tally 18 points or more.
Her incredible start to the conference season also came within that span. Over the first six league games, the sophomore averaged 19.3 points per game with astronomical percentages from the field (.576), from 3-point range (.610), and from the free throw line (.944).
Brock's pinnacle came on Jan. 12 against Eastern Illinois when she poured in a career-high 33 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 8-of-15 from distance, and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Those 33 points are the second-highest individual output in the OVC this season, and stood as No. 1 until mid-February.
Her effort against EIU, coupled with her 20-point night against SIUE two days prior, led to an OVC Player of the Week nod on Jan. 15.
Brock owns one of the nation's best free-throw shooting marks as well, ranking 31st in the Division I with an 86.5-percent clip for the year (64-of-74). During a 19-game period from Dec. 18 to Feb. 23, she sunk 45-of-48 from the line.
"Our staff and team are so happy for Jordan," said Rosamond. "She is one of the best pure shooters in this league, and she has worked really hard to become a complete player at this level. Even on nights when her shots aren't falling, the attention she draws from opponents opens up other opportunities for her teammates. She has played a huge role in our turnaround this season, and this honor is well-deserved."
Tech's season continues Thursday afternoon at the OVC Tournament in Evansville, Ind. The Golden Eagles, who enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed, will square off with fifth-seeded Austin Peay at 1 p.m. CT. For ticket information, please contact the Tech ticket office at (931) 372-3940.
Photo by Jim Dillon
