By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Throughout her basketball career, Reagan Hurst has been a competitor on a team full of competitors. Determined to help lead her Tennessee Tech sisters-in-arms to victory, the Baxter product put the team on her back, scoring 19 points in the second half.
She wanted the win.
While Southern Indiana dashed those hopes for one night, topping the Golden Eagles 81-72 in the Eblen Center, the fight has not diminished one iota. The Screaming Eagles may have won the battle and remain undefeated in Ohio Valley Conference play, but there remains a month to play in the race and a conference tournament to play.
Reagan Hurst wanted to win that game. As the fire is stoked and the intensity grows, the Golden Eagles all know what is still at stake and there's work to do. Nothing has been decided yet – not by a long shot.
Hurst led the way for the Golden Eagles (9-11, 4-5 OVC), shooting 6-for-11 from the field and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe as she scored all of her points in the second half – 12 in the third quarter and seven more in the fourth. She followed suit in the effort Anna Walker had in the opening stanza as the Golden Eagle vet dropped 10 points in the first quarter.
Tech played a solid first quarter against USI (14-5, 9-0 OVC), keeping pace with its speed and holding up against the Screaming Eagles' ferocity and physicality. The Golden Eagles shot 9-for-18 from the field and knocked down three quick 3-pointers to help build a seven-point cushion midway through the opener. As the first 10 minutes came to a close, Tech led 21-18.
The momentum shifted in the second quarter. Even as the Golden Eagles got good looks, shots just didn't fall as USI pulled together a 12-2 run over a 6:11 span as Tech went scoreless for 5:11 in the quarter. The final six minutes of the half saw the Golden Eagles miss their last eight shots and making just one of their final 10 shots. Tech shot 2-for-12 – 16.7 percent – in the quarter.
Meanwhile, in that stretch, the Screaming Eagles outscored Tech 17-6. Vanessa Shafford led the visitor effort with six of her 16 points in the quarter – both on 3-pointers. Shafford ended the game with a double-double as she also pulled down 12 rebounds.
In the second half, the two teams put up nearly identical numbers. If you take the first, third and fourth quarters together, Tech would hold a 66-64 lead. However, it is a four-quarter game after all.
Trailing by eight at the intermission, the Golden Eagles continued to fight, even as USI stretched the lead out to 12 after a quick pair of buckets to open the half. Tech put together a 7-0 run over 1:03 with a Reghan Grimes 3-pointer to make it a 43-38 game, but a review call later erased the long-range bucket as the video showed a foul committed before the shot.
The momentum shift saw USI extend its lead back out to 11, but that was when Hurst started to take charge. After the Golden Eagles went nearly 4:30 without a field goal, Hurst drew an and-one opportunity on a driving layup to cut it back to a six-point deficit.
She ended the third quarter 4-for-5 from the field and 4-for-6 at the line as USI held on to a 56-47 lead as the period came to a close.
Jennifer Sullivan opened the fourth quarter with an and-one bucket to make it 56-60, but the Screaming Eagles went on a 6-0 run to rebuild a double-digit cushion. Tech continued to claw back as Peyton Carter sank a pair of free throws to get back to within 10, Hurst hit a 3-pointer with 3:36 left to make it a 68-61 game, then Grimes hit one at 2:53 to make it a 70-64 game.
USI climbed back out by 11 with 1:05 left in the game, then Tech got it back to within seven with 46 seconds left. As late fouls mounted, the Screaming Eagles closed the game out to make it the final nine-point margin.
While the second quarter troubled the Golden Eagles, Tech also had a tough night from beyond-the-arc, shooting 5-for-27 – 18.5 percent. The Golden Eagles finished the game shooting 35.9 percent from the field, but was 21-for-23 at the free-throw line against a physical USI squad.
The Screaming Eagles finished the night shooting 46.2 percent from the field, including 60 percent (9-for-15) in the third quarter and 50 percent (7-for-14) in the fourth quarter for 16-for-29 in the second half (55.2 percent).
In addition to Shafford's team-high 16 points, Chloe Gannon scored 15 points, Madison Webb 14 and Meredith Raley 13.
The Golden Eagles will look to rebound on Saturday as they host Morehead State. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Jim Dillon
