COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech used a smothering
defense to force 34 turnovers with 26 steals and had balanced
scoring from the length of the bench to earn an 86-41 victory over
visiting Bryan College Monday night in an exhibition contest in
front of 1,015 fans in Eblen Center.
On a night that opened with the unveiling of yet another Ohio
Valley Conference championship banner hanging from the rafters of
Eblen Center – in recognition of the team’s record
16th OVC title last winter – third-year coach
Sytia Messer’s team looked every bit the part of the
league’s preseason favorite.
All 11 Golden Eagles who saw action scored in the first
competition of the season. As an exhibition game, neither the
outcome nor the statistics officially count, but that didn’t
stop Messer’s squad from giving the fans a complete
performance.
Four Golden Eagles tallied in double figures in the scoring
column, topped by sophomore Briana Jordan with 15 points in 6-for-9
shooting. She added four assists and three steals. Kellie Cook
scored 12, all in the second half while Tacarra Hayes had 11
points, five rebounds, six steals and four assists and Molly Heady
added 11 points, four rebounds and five steals.
Tech shot 48.6 percent from the field and held a 42-34 edge on the
glass. Bryan 29.2 percent (14-for-48) from the field.
Bethany McArthur led Bryan with 12 points, all coming in the first
half.
For the record, Jordan scored the first points of the game and
Kylie Cook drained the first 3-pointer. Those baskets ignited an
18-0 run to open the game as the Golden Eagle defense held Bryan
scoreless more than eight minutes to start the contest.
Perhaps the most impressive number to come from the 18-point start
was the fact that seven different players notched points in the
scorebook, before Jordan’s second basket of the night at the
12:06 mark capped the run.
In between, Tech got a 3-pointer from Molly Heady, baskets by
Brittany Darling, Candace Parson and Diamond Henderson, and two
free throws by Hayes.
Carrie Goodson hit a 3-pointer at the 11:45 mark of the first half
for Bryan’s first points of the night, and Morgan Brunette
followed with a jumper to make it 18-5.
The 13-point difference was as close as Bryan could get as Tech
answered with the next eight points and pushed the lead above the
20-point mark. The lead ballooned to as many as 30 points, 42-12,
with 2:50 to play in the half on a layup by Parson, before Bryan
outscored Tech 9-1 down the stretch to make it 43-21 at
halftime.
The margin grew to 30 points early in the second half, and
topped out at 47 points in the final minute when Tech went up
86-39.
The Golden Eagles get the regular season underway Friday evening
when they journey to Johnson City, Tenn., for a 6 p.m. game at East
Tennessee State in the first round of the Women’s National
Invitation Tournament. ETSU opened the year with a 65-47
exhibition win over King College Monday night.