NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team was unable to hold off the Tennessee State Tigers on Wednesday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles fell 67-64 in the Gentry Center.
The Golden Eagles shot the lights out in the first half, connecting on 63.6-percent of its shots. Behind 10 first-half points from sophomore Hannah Goolsby, Tech took a 36-31 advantage heading into the locker room.
However, the intermission cooled the Golden Eagles off, and did not prove beneficial for their shooting. In the second period, Tech only hit seven shots of its 31 attempts, and only managed four points in the paint in the second half versus the posts from Tennessee State.
Tennessee State scored 18 points in the paint in the second half, and shot 44.4 percent as well. The Tigers were able to tie the game with 5:22 left to play on one of those in-the-paint buckets. Senior Chelsea Hudson, who recently recorded her 1,000th point as a TSU Tiger, made the game-tying layup, which changed the momentum of the game.
Tech countered, gaining its final lead with 90 seconds left to play, up 64-62. However, a quick three-point shot from TSU's Brianna Lawrence gave the Tigers the lead, and two free throws from TSU's Briana Morrow sealed the game.
Tech got a season-high 16 points from Goolsby, who was a perfect four-of-four from 3-point range. Tech also got 12 points from both senior Candace Parson and freshman Yaktavia Hickson. Parson added nine rebounds and four steals. Junior Samaria Howard was a monster on the boards, grabbing a season-high 11 rebounds, adding 10 points for her second career double-double as a Golden Eagle.
The Tigers were led by Lawrence, who finished with 12 points, while three different TSU players added 11 apiece. Hudson added 10 rebound to her 11 points for a double-double, while Rachel Allen dished out six assists with her 11 points. Imani Davis also added 11.
The Golden Eagles will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 24, for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off as they will be the first game of a doubleheader with the TTU men's team. For tickets, go to TTUSports.com, or call 931-372-3940.
