By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's difficult to judge a team after just one game, but if the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team continue to play like it did in the season opener against visiting Cumberland, there could be plenty of highlights ahead in the 2018-19 campaign.
The Golden Eagles (1-0) pulled together double-digit scoring efforts from six players as Tech cruised to an 88-55 win over the Phoenix on Tuesday.
"It's always great to get that first win," said Tech head coach Kim Rosamond. "I was pleased with our energy and effort on both ends of the floor. I'd like to see us finish plays a little bit more on the offensive end because we had some great opportunities to make some really nice plays and just came up short or didn't finish a layup.
"Overall, it was a nice win to start out. It will continue to get tougher from here on out. I like where we are – we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do – but this was a good start."
Tech was led in scoring by senior Lacy Cantrell, who powered through the Cumberland defenders for 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting as the Golden Eagles put together 42 points in the paint.
"When you talk about a consummate team player, that is Lacy Cantrell," Rosamond said. "It's a testament to how hard she works and how much she cares about her teammates, so to see her have that success tonight made me very proud."
Cantrell noted that the team is looking at the 2018-19 campaign with renewed vision.
"We didn't end last year the way we wanted to," she said. "We've been getting after it since about two weeks after the season ended, so I think we're ready to show people what we're capable of."
Also putting on a show was senior Kentoria Alexander, who ended the contest two assists shy of a triple-double. She did get a double-nod, wrapping up the contest with 10 points and a team-high 10 boards.
Jordan Brock drained four 3-pointers as she racked up 14 points, while Megan Clark added a trio of treys among her 11 points. Akia Harris also chipped in with 11, while Anacia Wilkinson also added 10 points.
"Our two point guards – Akia and Kentoria – really set the tone defensively and offensively," Rosamond said. "They were terrors to guard off the dribble. A lot of the shots (Lacy) took tonight were dishes from those two. Those two really spear-headed our efforts tonight."
Cantrell agreed: "They did all the hard work dishing it inside to me."
Cumberland (0-1) had two scorers in double figures as Devon Burns led the way with 15 points, while Dominique St. Louis scored 10.
As a team, Tech continued to dish the ball around well, piling up 22 assists to Cumberland's nine.
"They shared the basketball extremely well," Rosamond said. "With the exhibition game (against Hiwassee College) and this one, that's been a theme for us. We had 22 assists tonight and 24 in the exhibition, so I like how we're sharing the basketball. We're doing a better job of taking care of the basketball with 11 turnovers tonight."
The Golden Eagles, on the other hand, forced the Phoenix into 23 turnovers with 15 steals for the gals in purple and gold – led by Harris with six.
Tech also controlled the boards 41-27, including 18 offensive caroms.
Cumberland kept it close through the first period, trailing Tech 19-14 after the first 10 minutes, but Tech outscored the Phoenix 23-7 in the second quarter to gain a comfortable 42-21 margin at the intermission. Following a close third quarter, Tech closed the door, outscoring Cumberland 26-16 in the final 10 minutes.
Tech hits the road for the first time on Sunday as it travels to Cincinnati to take on Xavier for a 5 p.m. start.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
