Murfreesboro,Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team was downed by in-state host and long-time rival Middle Tennessee, 84-53, on Thursday night in the Golden Eagles final foray into non-conference circles during the 2013-14 regular season.
The game opened up with a very defensive start as it took until the 13:00 minute mark for a team to break double-digits, as the Blue Raiders took a first half lead, 11-6.
MTSU's early lead was never relinquished, despite Tech forcing the Blue Raiders into eight first half turnovers.
Sixteen first-half points from senior forward Ebony Rowe guided the MTSU as they took advantage 36-27 heading into the break.
The Blue Raiders opened up on a 18-3 run out of the intermission. The Golden Eagles were never able to recover and the closest the gap ever came was 30 points.
Junior Diamond Henderson did her part however, scoring 13 straight in the second half, finishing with a team-high 21 points. Joining her with double-digits was freshman Catherine Taylor who knocked down 10 in the first half.
Rowe led all scorers with 28, adding 14 rebounds, and guard Shanice Cason added 13 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Both squads finished with similar numbers from the field, the Golden Eagles hitting 21-of-54, and 5-of-12 from three, and the Blue Raiders went 28-59, 6-16 from three. The difference in the game came from the free throw stripe, as MTSU sunk 22-of-30 shots, while Tech hit just 6-of-14.
The Golden Eagles return to conference play on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT as they take on Belmont on the road.
