COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Ta’Kenya Nixon scored the final four points to lift Eastern Illinois to a one-point lead and Tennessee Tech threw away an inbounds pass under the basket with 3.3 seconds left as the Panthers moved back into first place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 52-51 victory in Eblen Center Monday night.
The Panthers (21-5/12-1 OVC) had a 13-game winning streak
snapped on Saturday when they suffered a 94-86 overtime loss at UT
Martin, putting them into a temporary tie for first with the
Skyhawks. EIU moved back on top by one-half game Monday when UTM
was idle.
Tech (13-15/9-5 OVC) slipped one spot in the standings to fourth
place with the loss, with two home OVC games remaining before the
conference tournament.
Nixon finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, the lone Panther
to score in double figures. Sydney Mitchell added eight points and
10 rebounds, while both Chantelle Pressley and Mariah King also
scored eight. Point guard Kelsey Wyss had six points and five
assists.
Jala Harris was Tech’s top scorer with 16 points. Tacarra
Hayes was limited to four points but chipped in with nine rebounds
and seven assists. Rachel Glidden scored eight, Molly Heady had six
points and eight rebounds and T’Keyah Williams added seven
points and five boards.
Tech dominated play throughout most of the second half, taking a five-point halftime lead up to as many as 10 points with 13:50 remaining. The Golden Eagles held the lead all the way through to the final minute, but could never escape to a comfortable lead down the stretch.
The Panthers kept it close by knocking down three consecutive
3-pointers in the final six minutes, getting bombs from Pressley,
Kaitlyn Payne and Wyss. All of those offset baskets by the Golden
Eagles, and left Tech up by three, 49-46, following a free throw by
Brittany Darling with 2:43 remaining.
King and Harris traded baskets and tech was up 51-48 with 1:59
left before Nixon went to work. Her first was a jumper with 1:27 to
play to cut it to one point, then she made a layup after the Golden
Eagles had missed a layup at the other end. The last one came with
56 seconds left and gave the Golden Eagles plenty of time to
recover.
Tech was charged with an offensive foul, turning the ball over to
the Panthers, but Heady stopped Nixon on a baseline drive to get
the ball back. The Golden Eagles looked to Harris but her 16-footer
was off the rim, the ball was grabbed underneath and a scramble
ensued, resulting in a tie-up.
Possession arrow Tech, so the Golden Eagles had one final chance
with 3.3 seconds left, but the play never developed and the
inbounds pass went to the Panthers.
The Golden Eagles closed the first half on a 14-5 run, erasing a
four-point Panther lead to head to the break with a five-point
advantage, the largest margin of the first half.
EIU had established a four-point lead at 18-14 with 8:10 remaining
with a brief 6-0 run that included a 3-pointer by Sabina Oroszova
and a driving layup by Mitchell.
Harris scored the next four for Tech to tie the game at 18-18, the
fourth time in the half that the score was knotted. The teams
exchanged the next four baskets before Rachel Glidden scored a
layup with 2:11 left for a 24-23 TTU lead. Harris and Williams each
added jumpers in the final minute for the 28-23 halftime
difference.
The Golden Eagles continue their three-game, season-ending
homestand Saturday when they host Eastern Kentucky at 7 p.m.
It’s Think Pink Night and fans are encouraged to wear pink to
the game to help increase awareness in breast cancer screening,
research and treatment. Fans wearing pink to the game can purchase
their game ticket for just one dollar each.
For additional information, please visit the Athletics Ticket
Office in Eblen Center or call (931) 372-3940.