By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Decisive advantages in 3-point shooting and rebounding helped lift SIUE (7-8/2-0 OVC) to an 83-68 Ohio Valley Conference victory Saturday over Tennessee Tech (5-10/1-1 OVC) in Eblen Center.
The Cougars got 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists from Shronda Butts, plus double-figure scoring contributions from Sidney Smith (14) and Gwen Adams (13) to stay unbeaten in league play. Adams added eight rebounds, while CoCo Moore led SIUE with 10 rebounds on the way to a 47-37 edge on the glass.
Smith drained 4-for-6 from long range as the Cougars went 7-for-14 from outside the arc, while Tech managed just one 3-pointer in 16 tries.
Samaria Howard topped Tech in scoring with 23 points while Aliyah Smith came off the bench to record a double-double with 11 points and 13 boards. Takisha Jordan had a career-high six assists.
The Cougars were electric from outside the arc in the first quarter, going 4-for-5 on the way to steadily building a nine-point lead, 24-15. Tech was 0-for-4 during the period from long range.
The lead grew to 11 points a couple of times early in the second quarter before the Golden Eagles went on an 11-1 run to slice the margin down to a single point. Howard had six points in the run.
Two free throws from Lindsey Jennings with 1:43 left in the half tied the contest at 32-all, the first time in the contest that SIUE wasn't in the lead.
That didn't last long, however, as Butts muscled her way to the hoop and managed a three-point play for a 35-32 lead just 20 seconds later to kick-start a 10-3 run to close the period. A 3-pointer by Erin Kelley with 1:01 left made it a six-point edge, and a layup with two seconds to play by Moore gave the Cougars a 42-35 halftime advantage.
Tech was within three in the third period after a layup from Smith at the 6:18 mark made it a 46-43 SIUE lead, but the Cougars closed the quarter with an 11-4 run to reclaim a double-digit margin.
Once again the Golden Eagles rallied, pulling to within four points, 57-53, with 9:20 to play on a layup by Treyvonna Brooks, but the Cougars bounced back with an 11-5 run to go up 68-58 with just under five to play.
From there, the Cougars used an 8-for-8 performance at the free throw line to quietly move the lead to the largest of the game at 17 points in the final two minutes.
The Golden Eagles are on the road for their next three contests, playing at Murray State Thursday night and Austin Peay Saturday evening.
