Golden Eagle women return to Clarksville Tuesday for
OVC Tournament contest
2010 OVC Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket (PDF)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech controlled the boards and
got balanced scoring with four players in double figures on the way
to a 77-61 Ohio Valley Conference victory over Jacksonville State
Saturday night in the Eblen Center in the final regular season
contest of the year.
With the victory, the Golden Eagles tied for fourth place in the
OVC standings with an 8-10 league mark and went 14-15 overall.
After the league applied its tie-breakers, Tech will be the No. 6
seed in the OVC Tournament beginning next week.
Tech held a 51-27 margin on the glass.
Sophomore Tacarra Hayes, ranked second in the OVC in scoring, led
Tech with 18 points and also had seven rebounds and seven assists.
She was joined in double digits by Rachel Glidden with 14, Kylie
Cook with 13 points and eight rebounds, and Tiarra Hopper with 12
points and eight rebounds. Krystal Stirrup contributed eight points
and seven rebounds.
Brittany Wiley topped JSU (9-20/6-12 OVC) with 21 points, six
rebounds and four assists, while Karisma Boykin added 13 points.
Zenobia Pitts had seven points and five boards, and three players
finished with six points.
For the most part, the first half belonged to the Golden Eagles as
they took a 41-30 lead into the dressing room at the break. Tech
shot 42.4 percent in the opening half and held JSU to 34.5 percent
accuracy, and the Golden Eagles owned a 27-13 advantage in
rebounds.
The Golden Eagles quickly erased a 2-0 JSU lead in the opening
minute and pulled on top, 6-2. The TTU lead grew to 13 with 9:47
remaining in the half on a 3-pointer by Kylie Cook, 26-13.
The Gamecocks fought back to within six a couple of times in the
half, the last at 30-24 on a layup by Destiny Lane with 6:13 to
play. Rachel Glidden answered with a 3-pointer to key a 9-2 Golden
Eagle run, leading back to a 13-point margin over the final two
minutes. A jumper by Brittany Wiley with 24 seconds finished the
first half scoring and left the difference at 11.
The Gamecocks never really threatened in the second half as Tech
wedged the game toward a 20-point difference in the first five
minutes after halftime. The Golden Eagles’ largest lead was
25 points, coming with 4:15 to play at 72-47 on a basket by Kylie
Cook.
By clinching the No. 6 seed, the Golden Eagles will play Tuesday
evening at No. 3 Austin Peay in the first round of the OVC
Tournament, with the winner advancing to Nashville for the
tournament semifinals in the Sommet Center on Friday.