MONROE, La. -- Somebody flipped a switch, it seems.
The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team wasn't playing one of
its better games Monday night, slipping behind by 16 points well
into the second half at Louisiana-Monroe. The Golden Eagles were
missing shots, missing free throws and losing turnovers.
Then suddenly, the script changed, mostly by senior guard Tacarra
Hayes. The Ohio Valley Conference preseason Player of the Year,
Hayes went 8-for-9 from the field in the second half and 8-for-9 at
the free throw line, igniting a comeback that lifted the Golden
Eagles to a 68-64 victory over the Warhawks.
Tech outscored ULM 29-13 over the final 10:46 to pull out the
victory, finally taking the lead with just 2:08 remaining. Hayes
scored 17 of the final 29 points on her way to finishing with 29
points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked
shot.
Jala Harris, playing her first game for the Golden Eagles after
sitting out a year following her transfer from UAB, scored six of
her 12 points during that stretch, including a layup with 38
seconds to play after ULM had pulled to within two points.
Tech had to fight through foul trouble, shooting woes and 19
turnovers to earn its second straight win over a Sun Belt
Conference opponent. Now 4-7 overall, Tech has won two of its last
three as it heads 30 miles west for its next contest, a 2 p.m.
battle at Louisiana Tech Wednesday afternoon.
ULM, which took a five-point halftime lead up to a 16-point margin
by shooting 71.4 percent in the first seven minutes of the second
half, saw its record drop to 1-11.
Tech got strong play in the paint despite heavy foul woes. Molly
Heady finishing with nine points, nine rebounds, two steals and
four fouls. Brittany Darling had four points, eight rebounds and
four fouls. Kylie Cook fouled out with three points, two rebounds
and two steals. Tech held a 37-30 advantage in rebounds.
ULM was led in scoring by Larrie Williams with 18 points, while
Alexar Tugler added 16 points and five rebounds, hitting 6-for-10
from the field. Marion Zollicoffer finished with eight points and
nine rebounds while Elexar Tugler scored seven.
Neither team could score to open the game, with a 1-1 tie after
nearly four minutes of play. The score was tied eight times in the
first half and the lead changed hands 11 times before ULM grabbed a
late advantage. The Warhawks broke a 26-26 tie with a 7-2 run to
close the frame with a 33-28 lead.
Tech shot 33.3 percent from the floor in the opening half
(10-for-30) and was just 4-for-11 at the free throw line at the
break (36.4 percent).
The Golden Eagles missed their first four shots of the second half
and had six turnovers as the Warhawks strung together a 10-1 run
and opened a 43-29 lead. Another turnover and three more missed
shots and the lead was up to 16 points, 47-31, with 13:53 to
play.
That's when something turned for the visitors.
Hayes scored six straight, Darling hit a layup, and Hayes added
two more baskets and a free throw and the difference was cut to
seven. Heady's layup made it a five-point game with 9:39 remaining.
Tech cut the lead down to one a couple of times, and got the lead
at 60-59, on a jumper by Hayes with 3:11 remaining.
ULM used two free throws with 2:39 to play to reclaim the edge,
61-60, but a Hayes jumper with 2:08 left lifted Tech to a 62-61
lead. Tech forced a turnover and Hayes hit two free throws for a
trhee-point margin. After Zolicoffer made one free throw to make it
64-62, Harris burst to the rim from the right wing with 38 ticks
left to build the margin back to four.
Kylie Cook stole the ball in the paint at the other end, leading
to a layup by Hayes and a 68-62 lead with 24 seconds to play.
Williams made two free tosses with 11 seconds and the Golden Eagles
ran around with the ball until the horn sounded.