By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
CHARLESTON, Ill. – There were certainly plenty of moments where Saturday's game looked in doubt, but don't tell that to sophomore Maaliya Owens.
In the fourth quarter alone, Owens scored nine of her 16 points, helping to propel the Tennessee Tech women from a 15-point deficit nearing the midpoint of the third quarter to a 72-67 victory over Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at Lantz Arena.
"What a tough, gutsy road win," said Tech head coach Kim Rosamond. "We talk every day in our program about the importance of responding versus reacting to adversity, and respond was exactly what our team did today down 15 in the third quarter. I am so proud of the fight, toughness and togetherness our team showed in the final 15 minutes of the game."
In addition to Owens' 16 points off the bench, freshman Peyton Carter also chipped in with nine points, going 3-for-6 from the floor, all but one of those attempts 3-pointers.
"Our bench production was incredible today," Rosamond said. "We outscored them 30-7 in bench points. I thought Maaliya Owens and Peyton Carter really ignited and inspired our team in the second half. I loved the energy and tenacity they gave us defensively. I am really proud of how Maaliya played today. Mo played with a lot of confidence and poise, and just made big plays on the offensive end. She hit some huge shots at crucial times, but I also thought her decision making and defensive presence was really good down the stretch."
The second half alone was a completely different story as the first as the Golden Eagles (4-2, 2-1 Ohio Valley Conference) saw EIU take a 23-19 lead after the first quarter, then outscore Tech 13-9 in the second for a 36-28 advantage in the intermission. Tech was 28.6 percent from the floor in the second quarter with six turnovers – EIU converting those into six of its 13 points.
"We really got distorted from the jump when Anna (Jones) and Kenzie (Coleman) picked up two fouls early in the first quarter," Rosamond said. "We couldn't get in any kind of rhythm the first half on either end of the floor because we were having to sub so much to try to prevent those two from picking up their third fouls before halftime. We dug ourselves a huge hole to climb out of the first three minutes of the second half, but showed a lot of toughness to fight back the way we did."
After Tech was able to settle in the third quarter, the Panthers (3-5, 1-2 OVC) still held the Golden Eagles at bay for most of the period until Owens tied the game at 47 on a pair of free throws. Mackenzie Coleman gave Tech a brief 49-47 lead with 2:41 left in the third, but EIU's Abby Wahl tied it back up on the other end with a layup.
"Kenzie was a force inside down the stretch and our guards did a really nice job feeding her the ball and knocking down shots when it was kicked out," Rosamond said.
As time expired in the penultimate quarter, Jada Guinn knocked down an in-the-paint jumper to make it a 52-51 game, EIU on top.
With 4:20 remaining in the game, the Panthers were able to extend their lead back out to seven points as EIU's leading scorer on the day, Lariah Washington, scored on a second-chance basket to make it a 62-55 Panther lead.
Peyton Carter and Owens knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to cut EIU's lead back down to one, then Owens gave Tech a 64-63 lead with 2:44 remaining on another three. After Taylor Steele was forced into a bad pass to turn the ball over, Coleman knocked down a trey to make it 67-63.
Washington hit a 3-pointer on the other end to curb Tech's lead back down to one, but 20 seconds later, Owens knocked down another one to make it 70-66 Golden Eagles. Wahl hit the front end of her two free-throws, then, with 19 seconds remaining, Guinn hit both of her free throws to secure the final five-point margin.
The Golden Eagles struggled from 3-point range in the contest, going 12-for-28 from beyond the arc. However, in the fourth, Tech could hardly miss, going 5-for-7 with Owens going 3-for-3. The Golden Eagles, as a team, were 7-for-13 from the floor in the final 10 minutes, outscoring EIU 21-15.
Coleman ended the game as Tech's leading scorer with 17 points, while Owens was only other double-digit scorer for the Golden Eagles with 16. Owens ended the day 5-for-7 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range and 2-for-2 at the line.
Jordan Brock tied assistant coach Allison Clark for the program's all-time 3-pointers made record at 225 with a 1-for-4 day, while Kesha Brady's first four points of her six-point tally brought her to the 1,000-point mark in her Tech career – the 32nd Golden Eagle in program history to reach that mark.
Tech did control the boards in the contest, pulling down 36 rebounds to EIU's 28, led by Brady with nine rebounds. Tech also had 16 offensive caroms and was able to convert into 11 second-chance points.
"I was also very proud of our effort on the boards," Rosamond said. "Kesha, Anna and Jada combined for 24 rebounds, which helped us win the rebounding battle. I thought those three did a great job with second and third efforts to keep balls alive. Overall, I'm just really proud of our team's heart today."
Washington led EIU with 21 points, while Morgan Litwiller scored 17 and Wahl added 12.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Thursday as they take the first leg of OVC's Death Valley swing to Morehead State, set for a 3 p.m. tip.
More to come...