CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team couldn't complete the comeback Saturday afternoon against North Carolina A&T, as Tech came from a 10-point deficit to fall just short 54-49 in the first game of the Chattanooga Christmas Classic on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
After going into the break trailing by five, 27-22, Tech fought with the Aggies. Five-straight Hannah Goolsby points, including just her second three-point basket over the last three games helped the Golden Eagles get within three, 38-35, with 12:27 to play.
The Aggies maintained their composure and swelled the lead back up to nine with 6:02 in the game. Another Hannah Goolsby triple got the Golden Eagles within fighting range. Steals by Goolsby and Samaria Howard helped Tech earn both a trip to the charity stripe and a jumper from Howard. With 3:35 left, Tech was within just a three-point basket, 52-49. Tech could not capitalize on its defense as the Golden Eagles missed six shots, including two three's over a three minute and twenty second stretch, before N.C. A&T's Aprill McRae scored a layup to seal the game with 10 seconds left.
Tech finished the game shooting 33-percent from the field, and 15-percent from beyond the arc, while the Aggies connected on almost half of their shots, going 49-percent from the floor. Tech maintained a healthy advantage on the boards, outrebounding NC A&T, 36-29, including 17 offensive boards. However, Tech was only able to score 11 second-chance points off those opportunities.
The Golden Eagles were led by Candace Parson for the second-straight game. Parson finished with 11, adding four boards and three steals. Cat Taylor finished with 10 points for her second-straight double-digit game, while Howard matched Taylor with 10, and grabbed a game-high eight boards, adding three steals as well. Goolsby finished with nine points and two steals.
The Aggies were led by McRea, who had nine points on four-of-five shooting. Center Eboni Ross filled the statline as she recorded eight points, eight rebounds, and an impressive eight blocks.
The Golden Eagles will look to bounce back as they take on Morgan State on Sunday at 11 a.m. CST. Morgan State played host UTC Saturday following the Golden Eagle and Aggie match-up.
