By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech soared out on a 12-0 run to open Thursday's game and never looked back as the Golden Eagles soared to a 69-52 victory over visiting Morehead State at the Hooper Eblen Center.
Senior Maaliya Owens set a new career high in scoring with 24 points as well as a new top mark in 3-pointers made as she knocked down six of her 12 tries. Owens finished the game hitting 9-of-17 shots, while she also collected two rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.
The balanced effort only saw one more double-digit scorer as Kiera Hill set her new Tech best in scoring, tallying 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting, adding on to a solid night with seven rebounds and an assist.
The Golden Eagles improve to 10-5 on the season, 4-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while Morehead State falls to 6-10, 2-3 in the league.
Helping Tech's cause was a dominant effort on the glass as the Golden Eagles were able to outrebound the visitors 45-25. Reghan Grimes led Tech with a new personal best with nine boards, while Hill and Jada Guinn had seven, Peyton Carter and Anna Walker six. Tech also collected 15 offensive caroms – and held Morehead to just two – to collect 13 second-chance points.
Both teams also had good nights from long range as the Golden Eagles knocked down eight 3-pointers, while Morehead State hit seven – six in the second half.
Guinn also had seven points and a game-best six assists out of Tech's total of 18 dimes.
Morehead State had 14 points from Veronica Charles, who also had two rebounds, five assists and a steal. Charles shot 5-for-15 from the floor, including 1-for-3 from long-range. Melissa Secchiaroli also had 10 points, while Sophie Baydanov had seven on 3-for-3 shooting as well as three steals.
Tech scored the first 12 points of the contest, shooting around 75 percent early on. The torrid pace cooled but the Golden Eagles continued to score, taking a 21-10 advantage as the first quarter came to a close. The first 10 minutes ended with Tech shooting 8-for-15 for a 53.3-percent mark.
The visiting Eagles, meanwhile, was only able to connect on three field goals on 12 attempts in the opening stanza, collecting three of their 10 points at the free-throw line.
Tech's lead continued to climb as the Golden Eagles outscored Morehead 16-10 to take a 37-20 windfall into the intermission.
Morehead started to chip away in the third quarter, taking Tech's 24-point advantage back down to 16, but the Golden Eagles were able to get the cushion right back with three deep balls from Owens, Carter and Ansley Hall to outscore MSU 18-14 in the third.
The visitors had their best shooting in the fourth quarter, knocking down six of 11 shots in the final 10 minutes, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range. Morehead outscored Tech 18-14 in that span as the Golden Eagles were able to close out the contest.
Tech returns to action on Saturday as it hosts Tennessee State in its Alumni Weekend contest. The Golden Eagles will honor head coach Kim Rosamond for her 100th career victory, recognize the program's 1,000th all-time victory and recognize three championship anniversaries during the 1 p.m. matinee.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or visit TTUsports.com to order.
Photo | Jim Dillon
