By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
MOREHEAD, Ky. – For the first time in 51 days, the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team added a loss to its overall ledger, as it received its first blemish in Ohio Valley Conference play at the hands of Morehead State on Thursday night.
The loss ends Tech's nine-game winning streak, which started with a victory over UNC Asheville back on December 18. It moves their record to 14-4 on the season and 6-1 in the OVC.
"You have to credit Morehead," said head coach Kim Rosamond. "They were the better team tonight. They shot the ball extremely well and played really hard on the defensive end."
Tech played well to start the game, making 8-of-15 field goals in the first quarter (53.3 percent), and 5-of-9 from 3-point range to take a 23-21 lead after 10 minutes.
Jordan Brock led the way with eight of her team-high 13 points in that first quarter, where she also buried two of her three 3-pointers in the game.
She has now scored in double figures in nine straight contests.
Morehead's length and quickness on the defensive end made a huge impact in the second stanza, as Tech struggled to get good looks at the basket. As a result, the Golden Eagles yielded season lows in points and shooting percentage in the period, and found themselves trailing by 11 points at the half, 37-26.
Aliyah Jeune and Miranda Crockett, MSU's dynamic 1-2 punch offensively, got going in the second quarter, combining for 20 of Morehead's 37 first-half points.
Jeune and Crockett would both go on to record big nights for the Eagles, netting 26 points and 20 points, respectively.
"The second quarter was really tough to overcome," Rosamond said. "When you shoot 1-for-17 and only score 3 points against a team as explosive offensively as Morehead is, you really put yourself in a deep hole."
While Tech was unable to find an answer for MSU's firepower, the game was not all doom and gloom.
For the second straight game, TTU limited its turnovers, accruing its third-lowest total of the season with 10.
The Golden Eagles also doled out 14 assists, giving them at least 13 in five of their last six games. TTU entered Thursday's tilt as the conference leader in assists per game during league play with 14.7.
Tech fended off Morehead's spurt to open the second half, and answered with its own 7-0 run to get the deficit back to nine points.
The margin would hover around 12 points until the Eagles scored five in a row over the final two minutes to open a 17-point lead after three quarters.
Abby Buckner scored nine points on three 3-pointers, and hauled down seven rebounds, which shared the team lead with Kentoria Alexander.
Alexander contributed four points, and also registered a team-high six assists.
Kesha Brady matched Buckner with nine tallies; Anacia Wilkinson had eight points and six boards, Akia Harris had five points and five assists, Lacy Cantrell had four points, and Megan Clark and Taylor Lamb each scored two.
Now, Tennessee Tech turns its attention to its Saturday matchup with Eastern Kentucky, a team that has struggled mightily this season with a 2-16 record. Coming off the loss, Rosamond believes the quick turnaround will play to her team's benefit.
"The good thing about the Thursday-Saturday schedule is that we get to turn around and take these lessons we learned tonight and try to apply them against EKU," she said. "Life is all about your response, and we need to respond positively moving forward.
Of important note, Saturday's game with Eastern Kentucky will be played at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky. due to a scheduling conflict at EKU's Alumni Coliseum. The game will tip at 3:30 p.m. CT.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
