CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – It was a heart-breaker, and there is no other way to explain it.
The heart of the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team was shown in the second half against Southeast Missouri State on Saturday evening, as they came back from 13-point deficit in the first half to tie the game at the end of regulation.
But the one thing that plagued the Golden Eagles all game, haunted them in the overtime period, and that vexation was turnovers.
Tech committed 29 turnovers in the game, but the three most costly came in the final minute of extra time, as final TTU turnover resulted in free throw opportunities for the Redhawks, putting SEMO up 66-63.
Free throws and last second bucket from TTU senior T'keyah Williams gave the game its final score, 68-66, advantage SEMO.
The Redhawks committed 25 turnovers on of their own in what was an ugly hard-fought battle down the stretch.
The play of sophomore Catherine Taylor was key in the comeback effort in the second half, as she was a perfect three-of-three, two of which were from deep.
The first of her long-range bombs cut the score to a six-point margin with 10:20 left to play, giving the Golden Eagles life as they continued to fight to close the gap.
The second of shots from deep cut the gap to just two points, 49-47, with 6:13 to play.
Following that shot, the Golden Eagles managed to tie the game five different times, including the final score of regulation, 59-59.
Taylor finished with a tied-team-high 12 points, adding three steals, and two assists. Junior Samaria Howard also added 12, finishing with three rebounds. Sophomore Hannah Goolsby dished out a team-high three assists, adding 10 points and three boards. Also finishing in the double-figure scoring was junior Mariah Dean. Dean finished with 11, eight of which came in the second half.
The Redhawks were led by Erin Bollmann who led all scorers with 18 points. She also recorded a double-double by adding 10 rebounds. Jasmine Robinson added 14 points.
For the game, the Golden Eagles outshot SEMO, 51-percent to just 36.1-percent for the Redhawks. However, the biggest difference came at the charity stripe. Tech made just 14 of its 30 attempts, while SEMO connected on 19 of its 24.
Tech returns to action on Wednesday at 11 a.m. CST, as the Golden Eagles head to Tennessee State for a midday match-up.
