By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A back-and-forth battle to the end, the Tennessee Tech women fell on the short end of Saturday's 68-67 loss to Murray State. Macey Turley scored 11 points in the final 10 minutes as she was 4-for-5 from the field and 3-for-4 from long range
Katelyn Young tied the game with 45 seconds remaining as she grabbed her own rebound and got the second-chance bucket. Jordan Brock missed a jumper on the other end of the court, then Kesha Brady was called for a foul, sending Manna Mensah to the line with three seconds remaining.
Mensah missed the front end, but knocked down the second, putting the Racers on top. Tech called a timeout to move the ball up to its side of the court. Anna Jones took a 3-point try as time expired, but it didn't fall. The Racers celebrated the victory, securing the No. 6-seed in next week's Ohio Valley Conference tournament in Evansville, Ind.
"It was two good teams that went at each other," Rosamond said. "All night long, it was just punch for punch. Coming into the game and even at halftime, we said it was going to come down to grit and toughness. I thought our girls had that tonight. I thought they played their butts off. It just came down to one or two last plays there. They just hit one more basket than we did."
As the game opened, Tennessee Tech's fate was pretty much clinched. Had the Golden Eagles won, they were the No. 4-seed and would see Jacksonville State. Instead, Tech fell to the No. 5 spot and will face Jacksonville State, who moved into fourth. The two teams will face off on Thursday at 1 p.m.
Tech fell to 14-9, 12-8 in OVC play, as the regular season draws to a close.
Statistically, the Golden Eagles had the better night in almost every category. Tech had more rebounds, more assists, more steals, more blocks. Murray had just one less turnover, but the Racers also went 11-for-15 at the free-throw line to Tech's 4-for-7.
Jordan Brock posted her third 30-point game of the season as she was 13-for-25 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Anna Jones also had 23 points in the contest, while Maaliya Owens posted career highs in rebounds with eight and assists with five. Outside of Brock and Jones, the Golden Eagles combined for 14 points.
Turley ended the game with 25 points as she knocked down five 3-pointers. She was 8-for-18 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line. Young had 16 points on 6-of-17 shooting and completed a double-double with 10 boards. Lex Mayes also scored in double figures with 11 points on a 4-for-6 night with three treys.
Murray State will take on No. 3-seeded Southeast Missouri on Thursday.
The night was also an opportunity to honor senior Abby Buckner, junior Taylor Lamb and senior manager Blake Ledbetter on the team's annual Senior Night. Seniors Kesha Brady, Jordan Brock, Megan Clark and Mackenzie Coleman will return next season with the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photos | Dave Winder, MSU Athletics; Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
