By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
ROCK HILL, S.C.—Guided by senior Treyvonna "Trey" Brooks double-double, the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (2-5) defeated Winthrop (1-7), 73-50, in Tuesday night's action at the Winthrop Coliseum in Rock Hill, S.C.
"I'm so excited for our players," head coach Kim Rosamond remarked. "We have battled for the last six games, and just haven't gotten the results we wanted. We kept fighting and were determined tonight to play consistently for four quarters, and I think, overall, we did that."
Brooks opened the game against Winthrop with two buckets back-to-back in 1:30 minutes to give the Golden Eagles the 4-0 lead over the Eagles. Senior Hannah Goolsby knocked down a three at the 6:59 mark to extend Tech's lead to 10-4 over Winthrop. With 3:58 to go in the first quarter, Asia Harper got the put-back to give the Golden Eagles the 16-8 heading into the first media timeout. After the break, Tech went on a 5-1 run to close out the first quarter with a 21-9 lead over Winthrop. Brooks accounted for 10 of those first quarter points, connecting on 5-of-8 from the floor.
The Eagles opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run to cut the Golden Eagle's lead down to 21-16 at the 8:12 mark, causing Tech to take a timeout. Out of the break, the Golden Eagles regrouped and pulled ahead 27-18 with a layup from Asia Harper at the 5:54 mark. A Brooks' layup at the 4:55 mark put Tech back up by 10 at 30-20. Winthrop's Erica Williams jumper at the 2:24 mark ended a two minute scoring drought by both teams and pulled the Eagles within six of the Golden Eagles at 30-24. Lindsey Jennings added one at the line before the end of the quarter to close out the first half with a score of 33-24 in favor of Tech.
At the end of the first half, Tech was shooting 40.6 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from the three-point range, and 50 percent from the charity stripe; while Winthrop was shooting 37.9 percent from the floor, 14.3 percent from downtown, and 50 percent from the free throw line. The Golden Eagles allowed just six turnovers while forcing 11 and grabbed 20 off the glass to the Eagle's 19. Senior Brooks came out hot in the first half, already notching 13 points, which surpassed her career-high, and seven boards, while shooting 60 percent from the floor (6-of-10).
It was a low scoring third quarter for both sides with only eight total points being scored by the 5:15 mark, Tech still holding the advantage at 37-30. Winthrop's Noell Kellers drained a three at the 2:32 mark to pull within eight of the Golden Eagles at 41-33. A Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson layup with 5 seconds to go finished out the quarter with a score of 47-36 in favor Tech.
Harper opened the fourth quarter with a bucket at the 9:40 mark. The Golden Eagles extended their lead to 56-41 with a jumper from Anacia Wilkinson at the 6:26 mark. Heading into the latter portion of the quarter Hickson got the layup at the 4:31 mark to extend the Tech lead further to 63-46 over Winthrop. The Golden Eagles then finished the game out strong with a 10-4 run to claim 73-50 victory of the Eagles.
Brooks notched her first career double-double in the contest, tallying 22 points and 11 boards (setting career-highs in both categories). Three other Golden Eagles found themselves scoring in double-figures: Hickson totaling 19 points, Goolsby notching 14, and Harper tallying 10. Angela Coello Perez led Winthrop with 11 points and five boards.
"Brooks started this at UNC Asheville," Rosamond continued. "We really challenged our posts after the Radford game and she has stepped up full force. I just can't say enough about her attitude, effort, and leadership as a senior. I'm really proud of her and excited for our entire team."
As a team, Tech shot 45.2 percent from the field, 25 percent from beyond the arc, and 54.2 percent from the line. Winthrop shot 36 percent from the floor, 40 percent from downtown, and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles forced 24 Eagle turnovers, while allowing just 14 and grabbed 38 boards to Winthrop's 34.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Friday, when they close out their four-game road trip at Cincinnati with tip set for 6 p.m. at the Fifth-Third Arena.
Photo by Jim Dillon
