Jordan Brock and Maaliya Owens represent Kentucky at NCAAW Tournament

HAZARD, Ky. (WYMT) - In this year’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, two basketball players raised on the blue and white will play for the purple and gold.

Jordan Brock, a Harlan graduate, and Maaliya Owens, a Scott County graduate and daughter of LMU Hall of Famer Monica Owns, are representing their home state as Tennessee Tech competes in the tournament for the first time in 23 years.

“This is kind of what you think about when you’re starting to play basketball,” said Owens. “You’re watching March Madness on the TV, everyone wants to play in that one day and I think it hasn’t really hit me quite yet that we’re there.”

Brock is back on the court after missing her entire graduate season with an injury.

“When you have to sit back and kind of think about how you don’t know if you’ll be back or the fact that you have trouble walking three days after surgery and then you look back and you’re thinking wow, I’m actually here and I get to do this again,” said Brock.

Tennessee Tech will play Monmouth in the First Four play-in game for a chance to play one-seed Indiana. Tipoff at the Hoosiers’ famous Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall is Thursday, March 16 at 9 p.m.

Copyright 2023 WYMT. All rights reserved.