By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (10-15, 7-5 OVC) claimed another victory over Tennessee State (9-13, 4-8 OVC) in Wednesday's mid-morning matchup at the Gentry Center. The Golden Eagles topped the Lady Tigers 72-59 to claim their second victory of the series this season and extend their lead in the series to 55-13.

First quarter play was an interesting one as shot clock problems three minutes into the game caused the players to have to keep track of time in their hands with the announcer counting down from ten. The Golden Eagles held the early lead as Hickson dropped a three-pointer at the 7:17 mark to pull ahead 7-2 before the clock issues. After play has resumed a layup from Hannah Goolsby extended the Golden Eagle lead to 9-6 with 5:40 remaining in the quarter. Tennessee State held right in there with Tech tying the game up at 10 with 4:02 on the clock. The Golden Eagles and Lady Tigers continued to hold a tight game through the end of the quarter with Tech holding the slight 16-15 advantage.

Tech came out ready to battle in the second quarter, quickly creating a four-point lead at 21-17 with the reverse layup and one at the line from Goolsby to finish the play strong at the 8:43 mark. After a 2:30 scoring drought Akia Harris broke the silence with a jumper at the 5:27 mark to continue to preserve the Golden Eagle lead at 25-19. Then, two at the line from Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson extended the Tech lead to 29-20 with 4:08 remaining in the quarter. The Lady Tigers then stepped up their defense and forced Tech turnovers to tie things up at 31 with 45 seconds remaining in the first half. TSU held Tech to a 2:50 minute scoring drought until a foul with 15 seconds remaining sent Lindsey Jennings to the line who connected on one of three attempts. The Lady Tigers remained hot heading into the break closing out second quarter action with a layup by I'mani Davis to lead the Golden Eagles at 33-32.

At the half, Tech was shooting 31.8 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from downtown, and 85 percent from the free throw line while TSUS was shooting 41.4 percent from the field, 20 percent from downtown, and 44.4 percent from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles outrebounded the Lady Tigers by a 20-17 margin, however, TSU forced 14 Tech turnovers while allowing just nine.

Tech started off the third quarter on a high note with Hickson hitting a three to retake the lead at 37-35 over Tennessee State and 6:56 on the clock. The Golden Eagles continued to add buffer to their lead pulling ahead 45-40 with 2:08 remaining in the quarter. Another three from Hickson gave Tech the eight-point lead at 48-40 with a minute to go in the quarter. From there, the Golden Eagles continued to play strong holding Tennessee State scoreless for the last 2:52 of the quarter and heading into the fourth leading the Lady Tigers 49-40.

Into the fourth quarter, Tech continued to apply pressure on TSU, pulling ahead 56-40 with a jumper from Goolsby at the 7:04 mark. The Golden Eagles then took the 18-point lead at 62-44 with a layup from Treyvonna "Trey" Brooks. From there Tech continued to remain dominant and closed out the game with a 72-59 victory over Tennessee State.

Hickson led the Golden Eagles with 24 points and five rebounds connecting on 9-of-13 at the free throw line. Three other Tech players found themselves scoring in double figures: Brooks with 16 points, Harris with 11, and Goolsby with 11. Jones led Tennessee State with 15 points and 11 rebounds in the contest while Jayda Johnson totaled 10 points and four rebounds in the contest.

As a team, The Golden Eagles shot 46 percent from the floor, 50 percent from beyond the arc, and 71 percent from the free throw line. The Lady Tigers shot 41.5 percent from the field, 9.1 percent from the three-point range, and 51.9 percent from the charity stripe. Both squads grabbed 34 off the glass and allowed 19 turnovers.

The Golden Eagles will return to action on Saturday when they host OVC rival Belmont in a 5:30 p.m. matchup at the Hooper Eblen Center

Photo by Jim Dillon