COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- With Kellie Cook hitting from long range,
Tacarra Hayes driving the lane for layups and everyone pounding the
glass, the Tennessee Tech women’s basketball team earned a
key Ohio Valley Conference victory Thursday night in Eblen Center,
downing Murray State 80-67 in front of 3,180 pink-clad, happy
fans.
In avenging a 10-point loss at Murray a month ago, the Golden
Eagles improved to 10-14 overall and 5-9 in the tight OVC race.
Murray State left town with the same 10-14 overall mark and a 5-8
league worksheet.
With five league victories, the Golden Eagles are just one game out
of fourth place in the win column.
The Golden Eagles answered the league’s highest-scoring
offense with a variety on offense, led by Cook’s career-high
26 points. The freshman from Madison, Ala., was 5-for-9 from long
distance and 9-for-17 overall.
Hayes finished the contest with 24 points, eight rebounds and five
assists, while freshman Tiara Hopper added 10 points and seven
rebounds.
The Golden Eagles owned a 41-29 advantage in rebounds, with Kylie
Cook grabbing seven misses and Krystal Stirrup adding six boards
and six points.
Kayla Vance was Murray’s leading scorer with 27 points, while
Mallory Luckett added 12 points and four assists. Mariah Robinson
had a solid effort with eight points, 10 rebounds and three blocked
shots for the Racers.
The win snapped a six-game win streak by the Racers over the Golden
Eagles, and gave Tech a 55-13 all-time margin in the series.
Tech allowed the Racers to take a 2-0 lead, then took control and
never trailed after Kellie Cook tied the contest and followed with
a 3-pointer for a 5-2 TTU lead. Tech led by as many as nine in the
opening half before taking a seven-point, 38-31 lead into
halftime.
Tech’s lead reached double digits for the first time when
Hopper hit a jumper with 15:58 remaining to make it 46-36. The
Racers pulled within six points twice after that, the last time at
48-42 on two free throws by Kayla Lowe.
Hayes hit a driving layup and Cook a 3-pointer and the margin was
back to two figures. Tech’s largest margin, a 16-point lead,
came with 6:28 to play on a jumper by Hayes.
Tech will host UT Martin Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. to open
another OVC doubleheader in Eblen Center. Tickets are available at
the Athletic Ticket Office in Eblen Center or by calling (931)
372-3940.