By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – When the Tennessee Tech women and Eastern Illinois met in January, it was a heated battle for much of the contest. Saturday, Tech took the lessons learned from the previous meeting and shut down a talented offensive squad.
An 11-point run in the second quarter put Tech ahead and the Golden Eagles never looked back on Saturday as Tech defeated Eastern Illinois 62-45, picking up its third straight win and eighth out of the last ten games.
The Golden Eagles improved to 12-6, 10-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference as Tech moved into fourth place in the league standings. Eastern Illinois dropped into the current No. 8 spot with a 9-12 record, 7-9 in conference play.
"It was a solid win over a very good basketball team," said Tech head coach Kim Rosamond. "It might have been our best defensive effort of the year. I love the way that our team is defending right now. I love their commitment on the defensive end and I thought that was the difference in the game today.
"It wasn't our best offensive performance – and credit EIU for that because they play a lot of changing defenses and trap a lot. They just change things up on you and keep you off-balance – which we were for much of the day."
Defensively, the Golden Eagles were able to slow down the Panthers, holding EIU to single-digit scoring in two quarters in the contest. Tech also contained EIU leader Abby Wahl to 11 points on 4-for-13 scoring. Karle Pace added nine points, while Lariah Washington added seven.
EIU's press did force Tech into 20 turnovers, but the Golden Eagles kept the Panthers from capitalizing as Tech was able to keep EIU down to a 29.6-percent shooting effort from the floor, including 1-for-16 from long-range. Twelve of EIU's 45 points came at the free-throw line.
Mackenzie Coleman had an almost perfect day on the floor as she collected her ninth career double-double, pulling down 11 rebounds and scoring 15 points. Coleman was 6-for-7 from the floor, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. She also ended the day with two assists, a steal and two blocks.
"She was very efficient," Rosamond said. "What doesn't show on the stat sheet is the defensive job she did on Abby Wahl, their leading scorer and rebounder. She held her to 4-of-13 on the night and really just frustrated her.
"It was a great team effort and Maaliya Owens' defense in the first half was really good and really solid. I just really like our effort right now. Six weeks ago, we really had to dig deep and figure out who we were after that Kentucky road trip where we went 0-2. We talked a lot about never wasting failure. We learned from that and grew. We've slowly and surely taken little steps toward that team we are capable of becoming. We're not there yet.
"We talk after every game about what's next, win or loss. We're still not where we want to be or where we're going to be, but I think we're moving in a very good direction right now and have an opportunity to finish these last two weeks of the regular season on a very good note."
Kesha Brady also scored in double digits, collecting 11 points – including a 5-for-6 effort at the charity stripe. She also came away with six caroms. Jada Guinn also made another push toward a triple-double as she ended the day with seven points, nine rebounds and six assists with three steals.
Tech ended the day shooting 41.7 percent from the floor, including 44.4 percent from 3-point range as the Golden Eagles knocked down 12 3-pointers. EIU wasn't able to counter as the Panthers went 3-for-12 in the second and 1-for-11 in the fourth quarter, though went 6-for-6 at the line in the final 10 minutes.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Thursday as they travel to Tennessee State. Tipoff from the Gentry Center is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Photo | Matt Dexter, TTU Athletics