By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The future stars of the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team got their chance to shine on Thursday afternoon as the Golden Eagles put together an impressive performance against Tennessee Wesleyan in the annual Education Day game, beating the Lady Bulldogs 84-34.
After a long sojourn from home territory, the Golden Eagles (5-5) returned to the Hooper Eblen Center to a large crowd from Putnam, Overton and White County schools. The energetic crowd gave the Tech women a boost as the Golden Eagles put on a show.
Peyton Carter collected her first career double-double to lead the way with 12 points and 10 rebounds – both career highs for the sophomore from Abingdon, Va. Carter was 4-for-7 from the field, including 1-for-4 from 3-point range, while going 3-for-4 from the free-throw line. Carter also collected three assists and four steals.
In all, Tech collected 48 of its points from the bench, with Maaliya Owens scoring 10 points, Harley Paynter putting in the first eight points in her career – along with three steals, two rebounds and two assists – and Ansley Hall chipping in seven points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
In the limited action for the Golden Eagle starting five, the Tech crew put up solid numbers. Megan Clark led the starters with 10 points and four rebounds, while Mackenzie Coleman, Anna Jones and Kesha Brady each had eight points. Coleman led Tech in assists with four, while Jones had seven rebounds.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles were able to hold a TWU team that was averaging 73.9 points a game and shooting .432 to 34 total points – single digits in the first and second quarters – and 22.8 percent from the field as the Lady Bulldogs were 13-for-57 from the field. Three-point shots has been TWU's bread and butter for the season, but the Lady Bulldogs were 3-for-21 from long range in the contest.
Tech had 13 steals, led by Carter's four and Paynter's three, while Anna Walker blocked three shots and Owens another two.
The Golden Eagles were also able to dominate on the glass, outrebounding TWU 52-23 as Tech had 13 offensive boards and 39 defensive.
Offensively, Tech was 30-for-60 from the field for a 50-percent clip, hitting 11-of-25 from beyond the arc and an almost-perfect 13-for-14 from the free-throw line. Despite a slow start – and the game knotted at 6-all nearly midway through the first quarter and the Golden Eagles closing out the quarter on a 6-0 run in the final 2:25 of the period – Tech heated up and started to pull away, outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 29-7 in the second quarter and 27-10 in the third, bolstered by a 16-0 run in the quarter.
Jacelyn Stone led Tennessee Wesleyan with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while Madison McClurg had five rebounds and three blocks.
The Golden Eagles will return to action next Tuesday as they close out the non-conference slate with a home matinee against Samford, slated for a 2 p.m. start.
Tickets for Tuesday's game are on sale by calling (931) 372-3940, visiting the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or by visiting TTUsports.com.
File photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
